Cove Woman Details 'Amazon' Phone Scam

A retired Martinsburg woman nearly got scammed out of $15,000 and she is telling her story to the Herald to raise awareness.

Margaret “Peggy” Steinfurth, a retired librarian, said that she took a call on her cell phone on the afternoon of Friday, June 10. The male caller said that he was calling from the company Amazon and that their had been a “questionable purchase” on her Amazon account.

Steinfurth said that she didn’t suspect anything because she frequently buys items from Amazon. She was told that someone had ordered a computer and a computer-related device using her Amazon account.

The caller asked if she had ordered the computer and she said no.

“Then he said that my account was compromised and that he needed to switch me to someone in the fraud department,” Steinfurth said.

The male asked her some questions about her recent purchases. Steinfurth said she told him that she had recently ordered a “green” non-toxic hornet spray, but he said he “couldn’t find” the order in his records.

“That should have been a warning right there,” Steinfurth told the Herald. “If he can’t look up my purchases, how can he be from Amazon?”

The male also asked Steinfurth questions about her bank accounts, such as how much she had in them and whether they were checking or savings accounts.

“I probably told him too much,” Steinfurth said.

The male asked her if she had a credit card starting with the number four and she checked and said that she did.

Steinfurth said that she realizes now that the questioner knew that all Visa credit cards start with the number four and knew that she was likely to have one.

According to the financial website wallethub.com, the first number of a credit card is known as the Major Industry Identifier, and indicates what kind of company the card is affiliated with. For example, American Express card numbers begin with three, Mastercards with five and Discover cards with six.

Steinfurth did not give the man her credit card number, but she did answer most of his questions, she said, including telling him that she used M&T Bank. She also provided M&T Bank’s 800-number from the back of her card.

The man then told her that she needed to hang up and he would have the “M&T Bank fraud department” call her back.

She did so and got a call back from a man with what she described as a “heavy Middle Eastern accent.”

“It was so heavy that at times, I couldn’t understand him and I had to ask him torepeat what he said,” Steinfurth said.

The male told her that she was now “on a secure line” and immediately began to reassure her.

“He kept telling me not to worry, that the problem would be taken care of,” Steinfurth said.

She said that he also told her that the fraudulent purchase on her Amazon account had been detected because “someone ordered it at night when you were asleep. So we know you didn’t order it.”

Steinfurth said she didn’t think to ask how the man knew her sleeping patterns.

The man told her “we can fix this” but said that some “investigation” was needed. He also told her that he would be contacting the Treasury Department.

The male then told her that he would call her back the next day and told her to be sure to keep her phone battery charged.

Called back

The male called back Saturday morning and said that his name was Johnathan.

He repeatedly told Steinfurth that she was now on a “secure line” and that she shouldn’t worry.

“I think he was just trying to keep me calm,” Steinfurth said.

“Johnathan” then told Steinfurth that overnight, her Amazon account had been hacked again and the thief had bought bitcoins using her account.

“We know you didn’t do that,” the male told her.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency designed to act as money and a form of payment outside the control of any one person, group, or entity, such as a government, and thus removes the need for third-party involvement in financial transactions, according to investopedia.com. For example, two people in different countries could conduct a financial transaction without using banks or changing their currency.

“Johnathan” then told Steinfurth that she would have to go to her bank in person to take care of the problem. Steinfurth protested that her bank was probably closed.

“He knew that my bank was open until noon,” Steinfurth said. “That’s probably why he wanted the bank’s 800 number.”

“Johnathan” then began to encourage Steinfurth to drive to her bank and repeatedly told her not to hang up on him, even as she was driving to the bank.

He told her to keep her phone on but put it into her purse. He said that he would guide her as needed. He asked her how far it was to her bank and how long it would take to get there.

Steinfurth followed his instructions and drove to her bank, which was M&T Bank on East Main Street in Roaring Spring.

“Johnathan” then told Steinfurth that when she got to the bank, to park in the lot and then sit in the car and he would provide additional instructions.

“Johnathan” then told Steinfurth to withdraw $15,000 because that was amount of bitcoin that was purchased using her account.

“Once you have the money, come back to car,” he told her.

He said that “we have a restricted account. You will put it in there,” Steinfurth said.

“He kept saying, ‘don’t worry’ and ‘watch people in the bank, make sure no one is acting suspiciously,’” Steinfurth told the Herald. “He said, ‘We think someone in your area is trying to scam you and we need to talk to Treasury but we need to find out about your problem first,’” Steinfurth said.

As directed, she put her phone in her purse and went into the bank and told a teller that she wanted to withdraw $15,000. Steinfurth said that she did not know the teller. The teller told her that she would have to check with her manager regarding such a large withdrawal.

While she was waiting for the teller to return, Steinfurth said that she spotted Betty Miles, an M&T universal banker, whom she knew.

“Since I knew Betty, I went over to talk to her about what had happened,” Steinfurth said.

Steinfirth told Miles that she was going to withdraw $15,000 and Miles said that the bank branch might not have that much cash on hand on a weekend.

“Well, let me tell you what’s going on,” Steinfurth said to Miles. “As soon as I started telling her, she said, ‘Peggy, hang up. Stop right now, hang up on him. It’s a scam.”

Since Steinfurth knew and trusted Miles, she immediately hung up her phone. Miles then helped Steinfurth check her accounts and cancel the cards associated with her bank accounts.

Steinfurth realizes now how close she came to being scammed out of $15,000.

“I hope that me telling this story helps other people avoid this,” Steinfurth said.

Amazon.com states that:

While some departments at Amazon will make outbound calls to customers, Amazon will never ask you to disclose or verify sensitive personal information, or offer you a refund you do not expect.

Amazon recommends that if you get a call from someone claiming to be from Amazon, hang up and call Amazon yourself using a number from a bill or the company’s website. Never assume that a caller is actually representing Amazon.

AARP offers scam prevention information and a hotline to report fraud. AARP’s website states:

One-third of business-impostor fraud complaints involve scammers claiming they’re from Amazon, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports. Older adults are four times more likely to lose money and get hit harder — losing a median of $1,500, versus $814 for younger adults — in such scams.

How to stay safe: Ignore calls, text messages, emails and social media messages about suspicious account activity, raffles or unauthorized purchases.

Editor’s Note: Margaret “Peggy” Steinfurth is the mother of Herald Publisher Allan J. Bassler.