Beware: Colorado Teacher And Her Daughter Lose $200K After Being SCAMMED

Scammers posed as a title company during a townhouse sale, resulting in the 69-year-old losing everything.

Vicki Ragle was purchasing a long-term townhouse with her daughter Sarah. When closing day came, they were excited. They signed mounds of paperwork. However, when they went to check the funds, the excitement came to a screeching halt. Per NY Post, “‘The title lady said, ‘Where did you send the funds to?’ And I said, ‘I sent them to you,’ and she said, ‘We don’t have them,’ Ragle recalled.”

March 19, 2023

The email chain between the parties was hacked. This resulted in the funds being sent to that party instead of the party they purchased the townhouse from. The email to Ragle insisted on her sending the funds within two days to close on the townhouse she wanted. Per NY Post, it read, “Attached please find the final closing statement. The amount due to close is $198,662.81. Polite reminder: We require funds to be remitted 48 hours before closing. Kindly advise when you will be ready to remit the closing funds so I can forward the title instructions for your actions.”

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However, Ragle discovered on the closing day that she had lost her life savings. Ragle broke down and said all she could think about was being homeless and broke. She threw up after leaving the meeting.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, also known as the CBI, says this is a surprisingly common scheme called spoofing. Hackers will imitate a company and send emails to get someone’s bank account information. They recommend never changing bank accounts because of an email or a text. If you are speaking with someone via email, it’s critical to always confirm things via a phone call.

Ragle says that the pair will make it somehow. Sarah’s co-workers set up a GoFundMe account to help the duo.