They Were 'Calling to Help.' Then They Stole Thousands

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They Were 'Calling to Help.' Then They Stole Thousands
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“It is huge psychologically, because people think, ‘I can’t believe I was so dumb. How did I fall for this?’”

In the next months, my father and I tried the best we could to undo the damage. It was a frustrating journey.was dehumanizing on its own, but so were the hours spent begging customer service people for help. I pleaded. I raged. I started to wish the app companies could take a page from our scammer. Because where he had come across as friendly and reassuring, I got chilly half-replies, or just as often, silence.

After about a year, she recovered, and her life went back to normal. But as more time passed, I again noticed her struggling with basic tasks. She became overwhelmed fixing meals that once were routine and got angry when she forgot where she had placed her keys. Ever since then, I have felt a responsibility to protect my mother from what my dad calls “two-legged monsters”—­people who can sniff out weakness and prey on her friendly, open nature.

When the call ended, my parents huddled around her phone and thumbed through the unfamiliar payment apps. They eventually zeroed in on changing their passwords. They turned to the password packet, but neither she nor my dad could decipher her notes. “This was so stupid. I can’t believe I did this, so stupid,” she said, again and again. When my dad finally sat down to eat, he lifted his fork to his mouth without tasting much. That night, they barely slept.

“Some privacy thoughts,” I wrote to my dad. “Now they have y’all’s address. Make sure she knows not to open the door for anyone she doesn’t know.” I ticked off more items: Contact Experian, the credit monitoring agency; shut down the accounts for the apps she’d installed; contact the IRS in case of identity theft.

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