the financial advice columnist who gave $50k in a shoebox to a scammer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PSA: Victims of Fraud are no longer able to deduct the loss on their taxes. (Related to the article, she makes mention of this and I hope her CPA was aware of the change because otherwise she’s going to have another problem)

The 2017 Trump Era Tax cuts removed ability to offset phishing/fraud on your taxes. There have been multiple stories recently of people who gave their tax deferred accounts to scammers and now owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes to the IRS.

Someone mentioned this in the comments to the article and the author got really defensive and said she’s writing it off as a casualty loss, not a theft loss. Seems like a bit of a loophole if she’s able to do it.

So if I understand, she was planning on paying this $50k to the IRS. Instead, she gives it to scammers. She’s able to deduct the loss from her taxes, thereby lowering her taxes. So if effect, she’s sort of whole, no?

yeah, but if she gets a book deal off this, does it count as a business expense?

[Anonymous]

It’s fake. If you do this kind of scam, you have to target thousands of people from a cheap place to live. It’s a call center. They wouldn’t be close to her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

super easy to rag on this woman -

but my own husband fell for one of these online scams in a bad moment. ended up buying a couple thousand dollars in gift cards, made a couple of bank transfers - finally i realized what was happening and literally hung up his phone. but it was insane - it was just insane. i couldn't believe it happened.

luckily it wasn't $50k - gd forbid! - but it was a couple thousand dollars. i am still really shaken up that he fell for this - and it did make me worry that any of us could be vulnerable to something like this if it's the right scam at the wrong moment.

all that said - i don't see how this person can be a financial advice journalist after this!

i do think she'll get a book deal worth more than $50k.

Your husband never, ever did anything to hint that he was vulnerable to this? And wasn't being blackmailed for naughty behavior?

no and no

it was really insane. i actually posted about it in relationships when it happened because i was so shaken by it.

[Anonymous]

Oh i do believe this is a true story and that she fell for this. She didn’t deserve it.
Everyone has a blind spot, and even the smartest and best educated people are naive about something - we ALL are. This woman was naive about the way parts of the real world works in a specific vein that can happen to the very, very rich - it’s not their fault they are disconnected; they truly don’t know. This story made no sense to me when I first read it but after learning she is a specific breed of majorly loaded generational wealth, it totally makes sense.
And yes, what happened to her is still totally unfair, was a crime, and again, we all have our bling spots for different reasons. I am sorry this happened to her.
The only part about the article that bother ls me is the deliberate casting of herself as a regular person who needed a $80k emergency fund as a plucky, hardworking freelance writer with childcare to pay for. Losing $50k was undoubtedly humiliating and scary but it was not a real impact on her the way it would be to someone not in the 1%. That to me is the only part of the article that landed as fake, though it’s also another sign of how major wealth can make people out of touch with reality.

[Anonymous]

I can sort of forgive a lot about this story except the fact that she believed she was giving them the cash for safekeeping so they could “monitor” her spending. That just seems way too nonsensical.

[Anonymous]

I tend to think there is no way a scammer like this would take the chance and show up IN PERSON. There is a reason why they usually want you to wire $ or send gift cards. Otherwise, it is too risky. Cameras are everywhere.

Also, she seems to recall the exact conversation REALLY well. I agree with pp that suggests she made this up for a book deal...with her connections, she will get it.

If it did happen, on the other hand, what I do not get is this...I understand people falling for scams when pressured to make a split second decision to send money or divulge info. However, this journalist walked to her neighborhood bank branch, stood in line, walked back, boxed the money, etc. Easily at least 30-40 minutes of time where she was alone with her thoughts, without the crook breathing down her neck pressuring her, giving her time to reflect on the situation. And she still went through with it, supposedly. Not to mention that she clearly is clueless about our government; that particularly three-letter agency would not be involved in an investigation like that. That is something your average high-schooler knows just from watching movies with law enforcement characters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tend to think there is no way a scammer like this would take the chance and show up IN PERSON. There is a reason why they usually want you to wire $ or send gift cards. Otherwise, it is too risky. Cameras are everywhere.

Also, she seems to recall the exact conversation REALLY well. I agree with pp that suggests she made this up for a book deal...with her connections, she will get it.

If it did happen, on the other hand, what I do not get is this...I understand people falling for scams when pressured to make a split second decision to send money or divulge info. However, this journalist walked to her neighborhood bank branch, stood in line, walked back, boxed the money, etc. Easily at least 30-40 minutes of time where she was alone with her thoughts, without the crook breathing down her neck pressuring her, giving her time to reflect on the situation. And she still went through with it, supposedly. Not to mention that she clearly is clueless about our government; that particularly three-letter agency would not be involved in an investigation like that. That is something your average high-schooler knows just from watching movies with law enforcement characters.

Yes. Jussie Smollet vibes all over this. She *paid* someone to scam her so she could get her article and movie

[Anonymous]

I can believe it. You get somebody at the wrong time, you just never know. I had one happen to me from my bank, the scam about fraudulent charges on your debit card, they need to send you a new one, yadda yadda.

Literally handed over the code the bank sent which says “never tell anyone this code” while in the ER with my elderly mother being wheeled off for an MRI. Was lucky that they were slow scammers and when I called my bank 10 minutes later the scammers had changed my password but not made any withdrawals. I’m better than this!!!

[Anonymous]

Recently got the texting scam from the company CEO. First text was actually believable. 2nd was a little less so. By the third, it was very obvious. Played with them for a while “You said 4 but I got 10 gift cards for $500 each, just in case” 😂😂

[Anonymous]

Husband almost fell for the IRS scam. That was the first inkling thing might not be exactly right with his estimated payments at that point !!

[Anonymous]

More people pouring money into obvious scams:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/02/22/thousands-of-americans-fall-prey-to-mexican-cartel-cjng-timeshare-scam/72695295007/

[Anonymous]

I heard about the NY Mag article from Michelle Singletary (The Washington Post's financial columnist), who wrote about how she was scammed once, years ago: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/21/not-too-clever-for-scam/

They get you at a vulnerable time. We all hope that we wouldn't be scammed, but we're not on 100% of the time. They get you when you're distracted and not on top of things. It happens. Empathy is a good thing in this instance.

[Anonymous]

I think she's very brave to write about it. There are many scam victims who don't share their stories for fear of exactly the type of reaction seen here.