祖母因复杂的骗局而失去了一生

肯塔基州退休人员芭芭拉（Barbara）在一月份陷入了欺诈计划。

A 74-year-old grandmother had her entire life savings stolen by fraudsters who were posing as federal agents, and they used a sophisticated scam to steal a huge sum.

一位74岁的祖母为摆姿势的欺诈者偷走了她一生的储蓄，他们用精致的骗局窃取了一笔巨款。

Naturally, the victim's grandson is now speaking out to prevent others from falling into a similar trap.

自然，受害人的孙子现在正在大声疾呼，以防止其他人陷入类似的陷阱。

Barbara, a Kentucky retiree, became entangled in a fraudulent scheme in January.

肯塔基州退休人员芭芭拉（Barbara）在一月份陷入了欺诈计划。

It began after she began receiving alarming emails from individuals claiming to be from the Social Security Administration and the Inspector General’s Office.

它开始在她开始收到声称来自社会保障局和监察长办公室的个人的令人震惊的电子邮件之后。

Her grandson, Stephen Warner, shared he is "extremely angry that this is even a thing that she has to deal with."

她的孙子史蒂芬·华纳（Stephen Warner）分享了他“非常生气，这甚至是她必须处理的事情。”

The messages, which grew increasingly threatening over time, accused Barbara of fraudulent activity.

随着时间的流逝，这些信息越来越威胁到芭芭拉（Barbara）进行欺诈活动。

She was threatened with severe legal consequences, including potential prison time.

她受到严重法律后果的威胁，包括潜在的监禁时间。

To further manipulate her, the scammers provided a non-disclosure agreement and pressured her into signing it.

为了进一步操纵她，诈骗者提供了一项不披露协议，并向她施加了迫使她签署。

They also falsely claimed that speaking about the investigation could result in additional legal trouble. Now believing she was under government scrutiny, Barbara unfortunately followed instructions.

他们还错误地声称，谈论调查可能会导致其他法律麻烦。芭芭拉现在认为自己受到政府的审查，不幸的是遵循指示。

The scammers told Barbara that federal authorities would temporarily seize her assets for safekeeping while they "cleared her name."

骗子告诉芭芭拉，联邦当局在“清除她的名字”时会暂时抓住她的资产进行保管。

They assured her that once the investigation was complete, she would regain access to her funds.

他们向她保证，一旦调查完成，她将重新获得资金的机会。

But of course, this didn't happen.

但是，当然，这并没有发生。

As part of this elaborate deception, Barbara was instructed to purchase gold coins, which would be stored in a secure federal facility.

作为这种精心制作的欺骗的一部分，指示芭芭拉购买金币，该硬币将存储在安全的联邦设施中。

She was then convinced to travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to complete the transaction.

然后，她说服了前往肯塔基州列克星敦进行交易。

Once there, she withdrew her savings, $179,000 in total.

到达那里后，她撤回了储蓄，总共179,000美元。

She then purchased gold coins, which she handed over to the fraudster in the parking lot of a Chase Bank at Zandale Center.

然后，她购买了金币，并将其移交给了Zandale Center一家Chase Bank停车场的欺诈者。

The moment she handed over the coins, the scammer vanished without a trace.

当她交出硬币的那一刻，骗子消失了，没有痕迹。

Unusually, the scammer insisted on meeting Barbara in person, which is a bold move that hasn't yet been seen in similar scams.

这位骗子不寻常地坚持亲自与芭芭拉见面，这是一个大胆的举动，尚未出现在类似的骗局中。

Barbara's grandson is working with the FBI, which confirmed that this type of fraud is currently under investigation.

芭芭拉（Barbara）的孙子正在与联邦调查局（FBI）合作，该公司确认这种欺诈目前正在调查中。

The financial loss was devastating, but the emotional toll was even greater.

财务损失是毁灭性的，但情感上的损失更大。

Feeling hopeless and overwhelmed, Barbara attempted to take her own life. She was later hospitalized at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville, where she is recovering.

芭芭拉（Barbara）感到绝望和不知所措，试图自杀。后来，她在丹维尔的丹维尔（Danville）的以法莲（Ephraim McDowell）地区医疗中心住院。