Chesterton, IN – A senior narrowly escaped a $11,100 PayPal scam after growing suspicious of a fraudulent scheme targeting her bank account. The Chesterton Police Department (CPD) reported the attempt on Tuesday.
According to CPD, a scammer posing as “Crystal Lewis,” claimed to be a PayPal fraud investigator. She convinced the senior to deposit $11,100 into her account as bait. The scammer then took remote control of the senior’s computer, advising her not to check her accounts or speak to anyone.
The scam nearly succeeded, with instructions to withdraw the cash and transfer it to a cryptocurrency ATM. However, the senior, suspicious of the escalating demands, contacted her bank, freezing her accounts before any money was lost.
Chesterton police launched an investigation. The officer, posing as the senior, confronted the scammer over the phone. When asked which ATM to use, the scammer abruptly ended the call, realizing the ruse.
The senior’s losses were limited to reformatting her hard drive and reinstalling her computer’s operating system, police confirmed.
