I am David Welles, a retired lawyer, and at 87 years old I never imagined that trying to fix a simple email problem on my new iPad would explode into one of the most brutal and distressing experiences of my life.
I fought with that device for hours. Frustrated and looking for help, I searched Google for Microsoft tech support. I believed I was calling Microsoft. I was wrong. That number connected me straight to a scammer. The man on the line called himself Alex. He sounded polished, confident, and reassuring. He spoke like an expert. He promised he would fix everything.
Slowly and deliberately, Alex earned my trust. Then he crossed the line. He instructed me to download remote access software on both my iPhone and my laptop. That single decision opened the door to disaster. I watched helplessly as my laptop screen went blank, lights flashing while he moved freely through my system. At the time, I didn’t understand that he was stealing my usernames, passwords, and financial information directly from my own computer.
The calls dragged on for nearly five exhausting hours. I was mentally drained and completely overwhelmed. That evening, I called my work assistant and told her I had been on the phone with Microsoft all day. She immediately sensed danger. We called Alex together on a three-way call — not knowing he had already wired $85,000 out of my Citibank checking account.
Even after my assistant and I contacted Citibank within hours, the bank failed to tell me the truth: the money was already gone. I went to bed consumed by anxiety and barely slept. The next morning, I received another call — this time from someone pretending to be Citibank, asking if I had authorized the wire. That too was a lie. Another scam.
By the time the real bank confirmed what had happened, it was already over. The money was gone. Citibank refused to reimburse me, claiming the transfer looked legitimate because it came from my own devices.
Weeks later, the harassment didn’t stop. The scammers kept calling, posing as investigators and dangling false promises of recovery. While I may survive financially, the psychological damage is deep and lasting. I live with constant anxiety, sleepless nights, and the crushing weight of betrayal — all because I trusted the wrong voice on the phone.