Community rallies in support of Surrey, B.C., senior who lost $20K in scam
Naomi Mitchell, 84, says she was told to drop off $20K in person after her PC was hacked
Thousands have been raised for an 84-year-old Surrey, B.C., woman who lost her life savings in a scam late last month.
Naomi Mitchell says her faith in humanity was shaken after a day-long ordeal on Jan. 30, and she is sharing her story to inform others about her situation.
That day in late January, a pop-up on her computer told Mitchell that it was hacked. After she called a number listed on the pop-up, a man who presented himself as being from the "fraud department" convinced her that her bank accounts and computer were compromised, and told her to stay on the line.
She says she was then told to withdraw $30,000 from her bank account in a supposed bid to stop the funds from making their way to Mexico.
Mitchell says she called the scammer over 40 times that day as they continued to give her instructions and keep tabs on her movements. She ended up going to and from the bank over nine hours, dropping off $10,000 twice to a person in a nearby parking lot.
"It was like, I worked so many years to accumulate $30,000, and somebody can be so callous and sneaky to just take it all like that," she told CBC News.
"And somebody like me is so gullible. That's the worst thing is, how did I get sucked in?"
After her second drop-off, her local bank closed early due to a birthday party on-site. The Surrey senior told a neighbour, who realized that Mitchell was the victim of fraud.
Her two sons then called police. Mitchell says police told her that resources were strained but that they would open an investigation into the file.
Subsequently, her son set up an online fundraiser, which ended up raising over $20,000 to help Mitchell recover her funds.
The 84-year-old, who lives on her pension in a one-bedroom basement suite, says she's still recovering from her painful experience — but the generosity of strangers has helped her regain her faith in humanity.
"I knew I had friends, but that many friends that came to my help was overwhelming, and I'll never lose my trust for people," she told CBC News.
"I'll be more careful, but there are awesome people out there, and I want them to know that."
RCMP investigating scam
The RCMP detachment closest to Mitchell in Langley, a suburb located around 40 kilometres southeast of downtown Vancouver, says it saw over 1,000 cases of fraud in 2024. Mitchell lives near the Surrey-Langley border.
Const. Dennis Bell says that police are pursuing the senior's case aggressively, and he hoped for a positive resolution.
"If you're not sure 100 per cent what the person on the other end of the telephone is saying to you ... probably the best thing is just politely hang up and talk to a family member about it before continuing on," he said.
Bell says that, around this time of year, tax scams are common — where someone pretends to be from the Canada Revenue Agency and dupes people out of their money.
The constable says that if anyone has been told to withdraw large sums of money from a bank, it's worth talking to staff and telling them the reason why.
In Mitchell's case, the scammers told her to tell staff she was withdrawing the funds for a car payment.
The senior says that, in hindsight, she didn't call her sons as she thought the supposed hacking was something she had to deal with alone.
"In the end, it wasn't myself. It was all these many, many people that restored my faith," she said.
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