A spoofing scam made a fake email look legitimate. The funds have already gone overseas, making them untraceable.
GLEN COVE, NY — A Glen Head woman lost over $500,000 in a real estate scam in January, according to a GoFundMe account set up to help her out financially. Lynn Wiedmer, 57, was set to close on a home, but was scammed and is now struggling to move forward without her life savings, the page says.
According to the GoFundMe page, Wiedmer had been setting up a home purchase and had already sent a $56,000 down payment to her lawyer in late December. The closing was set for Jan. 10.
On Dec. 30, 2019, Wiedmer got an email from her attorney saying they were ready for the closing. The email asked her to send the remaining balance due, $504,000, the GoFundMe page says, including account and routing numbers.
"I'll be on jury duty, so you won't be able to reach me by phone," the email said.
"This email looked legit," the GoFundMe page says.
The email address, however, had one letter changed. The scammer created the email account and made the email look as if it were from the attorney. It's called "spoofing."
Newsday reported the domain name used was "opptonline.net," which had an extra "p" added to the real domain name.
read more (Patch)
GLEN COVE, NY — A Glen Head woman lost over $500,000 in a real estate scam in January, according to a GoFundMe account set up to help her out financially. Lynn Wiedmer, 57, was set to close on a home, but was scammed and is now struggling to move forward without her life savings, the page says.
According to the GoFundMe page, Wiedmer had been setting up a home purchase and had already sent a $56,000 down payment to her lawyer in late December. The closing was set for Jan. 10.
On Dec. 30, 2019, Wiedmer got an email from her attorney saying they were ready for the closing. The email asked her to send the remaining balance due, $504,000, the GoFundMe page says, including account and routing numbers.
"I'll be on jury duty, so you won't be able to reach me by phone," the email said.
"This email looked legit," the GoFundMe page says.
The email address, however, had one letter changed. The scammer created the email account and made the email look as if it were from the attorney. It's called "spoofing."
Newsday reported the domain name used was "opptonline.net," which had an extra "p" added to the real domain name.
read more (Patch)
