United States: An Indiana woman lost approximately $378,000 to fraudsters posing as federal officials in 2024. She is now sharing her experience through awareness initiatives with AARP to help others identify and avoid similar scams.
Mary Ellen Strange, from southern Indiana, was targeted in June 2024 after receiving a call from someone claiming to represent Amazon’s fraud detection unit. According to reports by PBS Kentucky Edition and AARP, the caller falsely alleged that her name was linked to a money laundering investigation.
Although Strange initially disconnected the call, she later searched online for Amazon’s fraud helpline and contacted a fraudulent number. The person who answered transferred her to another scammer impersonating a Federal Trade Commission officer.
The fraudster threatened her with criminal charges and a lengthy court case, claiming he could protect her accounts if she followed instructions and kept the matter confidential. Over the following two months, Strange was persuaded to withdraw money through ATMs, Bitcoin machines and gift card outlets. Scammers also arranged three collections of cash, gold coins and gold bars.
She was additionally instructed to withdraw funds from one of her annuities, which formed part of her retirement savings. The total loss reached nearly $378,000, and she subsequently faced almost $100,000 in federal taxes on the withdrawn annuity money.
Strange’s experience reflects a wider problem involving cryptocurrency-related fraud. The FTC reported that losses linked to Bitcoin ATMs exceeded $65 million in the first half of 2024, while reported losses at these machines had increased nearly tenfold between 2020 and 2023.
She realised she had been deceived in August 2024 when the promised account restrictions never materialised and the caller stopped responding.
Since then, Strange has participated in fraud-awareness initiatives, joined an AARP support group and urged Indiana lawmakers to reconsider tax rules affecting scam victims.
Authorities advise people to verify customer service numbers through official websites, avoid secrecy demands and never transfer money or withdraw cash in response to unexpected calls from alleged government officials.
