JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville woman says she was scammed out of thousands of dollars. It started with a text message claiming to be from VyStar Credit Union, warning her of a fraud alert.
Not long after, Sandra Wilbourn, who is 71 years old, got a call while she was at her husband’s bedside in the hospital after he suffered a stroke.
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Days later, they were able to convince her to put her cards in a mailbox to be shipped off with a promise to send a new one.
“They’re taking the vulnerability of old people, senior citizens, any moment that you’re in a crisis,” Wilbourn said.
Between a recent stage four cancer diagnosis and caring for her husband, she had enough on her plate.
“8 thousand and something dollars,” Wilbourn said. She says that’s the amount of money she lost between her checking and savings account. She says the fraud alert and communication with a person who said his name was David Porter seemed real and urgent.
“That someone was trying to charge a ticket to my account,” Wilbourn said.
He instructed her to put her credit cards in a mailbox with no postage.
“FedEx will come on Monday to bring you a new card,” Wilbourn said.
The new card never came. In documents she shared with Action News Jax, we saw transactions of $1,000, $100, and $1,100. She’s left with bills piling up, unexpected expenses, and grief.
“My husband died in the midst of this. So, I got to deal with that, while I’m dealing with this,” Wilbourn said.
She says she wishes she saw the red flags sooner.
“Seniors don’t do this. Don’t talk to nobody who’s not talking to you. Go to the bank, find out for yourself. Don’t put your card in the mailbox, don’t raise no flag. Don’t do none of that, it’s all a scam,” she warns.
She’s filed a police report with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. She’s waiting to hear back about if they can track down cameras and see who withdrew money and picked up those cards.
If you want to help Sandra, you can do that here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-sandra-wilbourn-after-loss-and-scam
The Better Business Bureau says if you get similar texts saying that fraud is happening to your account, you should: Verify that there is an issue directly with your bank, never give personal information to unsolicited callers, and always be cautious of links sent via text.
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