A fundraiser has been started in White Rock for a senior who has lost $20,000 due to a phone scam, the type that has been increasingly affecting B.C. residents.
Police across the province have been warning people about scam calls where the perpetrator will attempt and often succeed at getting the call-taker to hand over typically thousands of dollars. While seniors are disproportionately affected, people of all ages should take precautions and educate themselves on the warning signs, police and experts have stated.
For 85-year-old Naomi Mitchell, originally from the Peninsula, the sum of money she lost was a large chunk of her savings "for emergencies and end of life care," reads an online fundraiser set up by her son, Stu Mitchell.
"Money has always been tight for my mom, but since her retirement she has managed to put a small amount away each month and, until recently, had saved $35,000," Stu explained, but now, the senior is out $20,000.
The family started the online fundraiser to help their beloved mother after police told them she would not be able to get her money back from the scammers, Stu said.
"The perpetrators said that her bank accounts were at risk of being siphoned, and kept her on the phone for a full day, instructing her to make two $10,000 cash withdrawals which they would ‘transfer to a safe account.'"
"It has been heartbreaking to see her go through this, not only losing money, but her faith in humanity."
Naomi was an elementary school teacher while raising her two children on her own, her son shared. Now on a pension, the woman lives on her own in a small basement suite, but she was determined to save money and did.
Her son said she saved little by little each month until she reached the $35,000 mark and has been devastated since the scam.
As of Tuesday morning (Feb. 4), the GoFundMe has raised nearly $12,000 of the $20,000 goal, to replace the amount she lost.
“I really can’t find words to express how I feel," Naomi said in an update posted online.
"I am humbled by the number of people that have come to help me. Family, friends, friends of my sons, people I haven’t seen in years and many that I barely know or have never even met. Your kindness and generosity remind me that there really are good people out there. I can only say from my heart, thank you.”