A RETIRED nun has lost her retirement savings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars due to a sneaky scheme.
Now, she’s seeking work again to pay bills and and move forward.
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Last year, Rene Pientka, 80, received a notice in the mail that she’d won $10 million and a new car, and understandably wanted to believe it was real, per Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ.
The postcard claimed to be from Publisher’s Clearing House (PCH), which used to be fairly well-known nationwide for running a sweepstakes and surprising Americans, typically seniors, who won by knocking on their door with balloons and a giant check.
Knowing that PCH typically never contacts winners by mail, Pientka told the outlet that she ignored the postcard.
Except, several months later, a phone call came in to her home “confirming” the win, and the retired nun started to think it might just be the real thing.
Read More on Scams and Fraud
“They said that in order to receive the prizes, I would have to pay luxury and sales tax. They were convincing,” Pientka recalled.
“They were very suave, they were very personable.”
The 80-year-old already hoped that with only a landline and no internet or cell phone that scammers would stay away, but that also kept her from noticing PCH’s online warnings about imposters.
So, she starting sending over money to the fraudsters on the end of the line to pay the alleged “luxury and sales tax.”
COLLECTION BEGINS
Over time, as she continued to pay the cash they requested, the scammers impersonating PCH even sent Pientka gifts like a pizza and a plant from Amazon, according to what she told WMAQ.
By the end of 2024, Pientka was suspicious about the two men on the other end of the phone and stopped taking the calls.
That’s when a locksmith showed up at her door.
He told the outlet that he’d received a phone call from a man (the scammer) claiming to be Pientka’s grandson, and he told the locksmith that the 80-year-old had been locked out of her car and needed assistance.
After arriving at her residence, the scammer pleaded to be put on the phone with Pientka, but this wasn’t the first time the locksmith had seen this move.
He said that several scammers have sent him to elderly victims’ homes to try and reconnect and get more money when they cut off contact from them.
Phone scam statistics
Americans are bombarded with three billion spam phone calls a month. What are the figures regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters
- In 2022, Americans lost some $39.5 billion to phone scams, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
- The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a major rise on the 2021 figure of $182 per victim, according to Hiya.
- The majority of scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as reports the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
- In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls with 60% of those being robocalls.
- US residents experienced an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the true figure may be as high as 31 per month.
- Many phone calls from reputable businesses may be marked wrongly as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they’re being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
- Never hand over any personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For instance, your bank will never ask you for such details in full over the phone.
- To cut down on spam phone calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check that list before they call you up.
- Downloading third-party apps such as Hiya, Nomorobo, or Truecaller can help filter out annoying spam calls.
- Try not to share your phone number unless you have to, especially online or with sketchy sources.
The locksmith reports those calls to the police, which he’s already done five times, and did again with Pientka.
By the time police officers got involved earlier this year, Pientka had given away $400,000 from her 401(k) account through five personal checks to different address across the nation.
Pientka did keep a detailed record of all names, addresses, and account numbers she sent the money to.
COMPLEX SITUATION
The information led investigators not to the scammers but to other victims who then accidentally helped the real scammers move the money out of the country, known as “money mules.”
So, the cash went from Pientka, to other victims, then out of the country.
It’s a complex process linked to international organized crime that the police and FBI are tackling together.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Pientka will see the money again.
She said it’s “the disappointment of dreams not coming true.”
“I no longer have the funds that could be available for medical care.”
Pientka’s family has created a GoFundMe to help her with living expenses.
Some Americans are also falling victim to nasty property scams this year.
A couple was left devastated earlier this year after racking up $33,000 in roof repairs that were never completed.
Similarly, a 71-year-old woman lost $64,000 in another incident.
