84-year-old Santa Rosa woman swindled out of $600K by cyber fraudsters

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A family in Santa Rosa is reeling after their elderly loved one lost more than half a million dollars to a sophisticated fraud scheme this year. 

In May, an 84-year-old woman received a text claiming her Apple devices had been hacked. After several phone calls with folks claiming to be from the Department of the Treasury and Wells Fargo, she told the woman that she and her husband were connected to a crime related to pornography.

They also said if she didn’t follow their instructions, or if she told anyone what was happening, she and her husband could be arrested. The woman lives with her husband at an elderly care facility, and he suffers from dementia. 

She kept the "investigation" with the DoT to herself, not even telling her family or friends what was happening. A little over six weeks later, she had handed over more than $600,000 to total strangers.  

The woman's son, Robert Kranson, shared his family's story with KTVU. 

"There’s a special place in hell for people like this. These are really smart bad people. I hope that they get caught," Kranson told KTVU. "They had built, because of this orchestrated process they go through, the combination of fear and trust they established with her…They had her lock, stock and barrel."

With the help of the scammers, Kranson’s mother was able to withdraw large sums of money from her Wells Fargo bank account.

Kranson says the Wells Fargo employees warned her the situation seemed fraudulent, but they ultimately processed the transactions. Kranson's mother then wired the cash to a local shop, Rinkor Rare Coins, to purchase several gold bars, worth around $80,000 each. 

Kranson's mother did as instructed. She picked up the bars and handed them to a courier the scammers had arranged. 

Kranson says his mother was also unwittingly used as a mule by the scammers. She helped them pick up gold bars that a woman in Pennsylvania had purchased and then delivered them to another courier. 

The owner of the Rinkor Rare Coins tells KTVU that Kranson's mother was not truthful during their transaction. He says she told the shop that the extra gold from the woman in Pennsylvania was from her sister. He also says his team followed all fraud procedures before handling the transaction, but if customers aren't honest, there's only so much that can be done. 

"So many people could have helped prevent this, but they don’t have sophisticated enough systems in place," Kranson said. 

She was told by the scammers that her money was being held for her own protection. Kranson says he's frustrated that the bank and the gold shop didn't ask more questions during the exchanges; he hopes more safeguards can be put in place to protect people like his mother. 

"Every one of these companies has fraud alerts. If it looks like fraud, smells like fraud, it probably is fraud. And yet they don’t stop it," Kranson said. 

Kranson’s mother finally came clean with her son once her accounts were nearly empty and the scammer's phone numbers were disconnected. All in all, the family lost over $600,000, and she lost her financial future.

Kranson wonders if there was a way for him to stop this. 

"Although we may never see that money, the thought was what can we do to help prevent somebody else from being sucked into this," Kranson told KTVU. 

Internet crimes have become more common over the past several years, and that's no surprise. The FBI says more than 100,000 people over the age of 60 reported fraud claims in 2023 alone, a total of more than $3 billion in losses. 

So how can you keep yourself and your loved ones safe?  The National Elder Fraud hotline says it’s good practice to avoid sharing any personal information with a person who calls you unexpectedly.

If someone calls your phone claiming to be your bank or the Internal Revenue Service, and you did not initiate the call, hang up and reach out to the bank or the IRS directly using a verified phone number instead.

For now, Kranson says he will now be playing a bigger role in managing his parents’ finances in the future, and he encourages others with elderly family members to do the same.

He says he never thought a woman like his mom could fall victim to a scheme like this, but he wants her to feel supported through the ordeal. 

"Just letting my mother know that she’s safe, and she’s loved and there’s no reason for her to ever have anything that she can’t approach her family on," Kranson said. 

This type of fraud can leave people feeling vulnerable in more ways than one. Many victims feel shame or embarrassment, but it’s important to know they are not alone. The National Elder Fraud Hotline has staff available at 1-833-FRAUD-11.