Lawyer Loses His Retirement Savings in “Government Investigation” Scam

Sept. 1, 2024 –You could write a best seller on the ingenious ways criminals use to steal money from people, especially those over 60. These crooks capitalize on a sense of trust to drain senior retirement accounts with ploys like asking for help on stamping out corruption, or rescuing a relative or friend in trouble.

Folks 60 and over are often targeted by cybercriminals because they are such a rich source of funds. Among all age groups in 2023, people over 60 lost more than $3.4 billion from scams, according to the F.B.I.

Per the New York Times, retired attorney Barry Heitin lost almost all of his retirement savings, $740,000, to an incredibly complicated scheme. Criminals persuaded him that he was helping out with an important government investigation, so he spent months and many hours draining his accounts, where the money vanished into the black hole of the Internet. What’s more, he owed the IRS taxes on his “withdrawals”.

Cybercriminals use dating sites, social media accounts, malicious software, and messaging apps to look for targets to steal from. They use elaborate setups that persuade victims to deposit funds into an account “to protect their money”. Sometimes it is an impersonator whom the victim falls in love with, and asks to send money to help with their troubles or to fund a visit.

In the case of Mr. Heitin, criminals started by hacking into his 401(k) account, preventing him from accessing it. What followed was a long and complicated scheme that ended up with his losing almost all of his retirement savings. While his retirement accounts were being drained, criminals were feeding him almost daily reports on the “success” of his efforts to help the government track down other perpetrators. The intricacy, and the imagination, of some of these attacks is so complex that even the most sophisticated person could fall victim.

An advisor tried to help

One of Heitin’s advisors tried to help end the scam. Heiten was given elaborate excuses to cover why he was taking so much money out of his accounts, but one advisor followed up. He discovered Heitin was not buying property in Canada as a “surprise” for his kids. Although the advisor warned Heitin that something seemed amiss, the perpetrators were so skillful that he began to doubt the advisor. Eventually he found a way to transfer the money out, which was quickly lost to the cyberthieves. Adding to his woes, he is liable for taxes on the amounts withdrawn from those retirement accounts.

Gold, cybercurrency, and gift cards

Criminals don’t want to get caught or have the money they steal recovered. So in addition to having victims create new accounts, they also ask for the funds in untraceable form – gold, cybercurrency, and gift cards. That alone should be a warning, if anyone asks for help in that form – run!

Bottom line

Fortunately, we have heard of other cases where a banker or financial advisor stepped in to save a victim from some type of scam. Be wary if someone asks for help and wants you to keep it secret. If an advisor, banker, family member or friend raises warning flags – pay attention. Read the incredible saga of how Mr. Heitin was duped.

Comments? Have you been a victim of cybercrime? If so we’d like to hear about it.

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