Former Amtrak employee convicted of wire fraud

[TaseMeBro]

I browsed around a bit to see if there was a thread from back in 2019, when the story and case originated, but didn't find one. If I missed it, admins please combine.

Here's the story:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article270994647.html
In summary, back in 2019, a now-former Amtrak employee dreamt up a "New Orleans to NYC" special trip, created some social media presence to advertise it, and collected about $23,000 in $500 deposits. Just prior to departure, she contacted victims to let them know the trip was cancelled due to a bomb threat, then strung them along on promises of refunds.

Interestingly, if read the article right, she also received another wire fraud charge for a false sick benefits claim to the railroad retirement board.

The (federal) sentence, handed down Jan 10th, was 1 year (2 consecutive six month counts, for each wire fraud charge), plus restitution to the vicims.

 

[travelplus]

Gee it takes a lot of nerve to trust a stranger with money. Its best to book with a reputable travel agency with an escrow account.

 

[zephyr17]

Gee it takes a lot of nerve to trust a stranger with money.

I don't think "nerve" is the word I'd use. "Stupidity" comes to mind.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Anybody who thinks they’re too smart or too cautious to play the fool is ripe for being conned. One factor that allows frauds like this to continue is that nobody wants to admit they fell for it.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Anybody who thinks they’re too smart or too cautious to play the fool is ripe for being conned. One factor that allows frauds like this to continue is that nobody wants to admit they fell for it.

One of my Late Night TV Shows I enjoy is " American Greed" which gives perfect examples of Scammers that fleece people, especially Senior Citizens, who seem to be the most trusting of strangers asking for their money!

Politicians,"Financial Planners",Lawyers and TV Evangelists are other examples of this type of Grifter!

 

[joelkfla]

One of my Late Night TV Shows I enjoy is " American Greed" which gives perfect examples of Scammers that fleece people, especially Senior Citizens, who seem to be the most trusting of strangers asking for their money!

Politicians,"Financial Planners",Lawyers and TV Evangelists are other examples of this type of Grifter!

The lowest of the low are the home assistants who trick their senior employers into giving them access to their savings.

 

[JayPea]

I don't think "nerve" is the word I'd use. "Stupidity" comes to mind.

We had a scam happen at our store that definitely fell under the "stupidity" definition. One night at work one of our managers, a young gal, received a phone call saying that she needed to deliver $3,000 to some guy in the next town over or our store manager would be in a lot of trouble. So she did. Given that we are lucky if our profit margin is 1%, $3,000 is not an insignificant sum. I was there at the time and wondered where she had gone, but as that was one of the nights we receive a freight load and was concentrating on that, I didn't think any more of it. From the story I heard later, she realized what she had done on her way back to the store, which is why I later saw her talking to a cop and the store manager walking around the store looking very agitated. I do believe we did recover the cash, however. I was surprised she kept her job, though she did step down from her managerial position on her own accord. When I'm at the store overnight, I can't leave, especially when no one else is there because I have to answer the doorbell at our back door (and the phone, for that matter) and I have no access to our safe nor do I want it. So though I'm not the most brilliant person in the world that wouldn't work with me.

 

[Asher]

We had a scam happen at our store that definitely fell under the "stupidity" definition. One night at work one of our managers, a young gal, received a phone call saying that she needed to deliver $3,000 to some guy in the next town over or our store manager would be in a lot of trouble. So she did. Given that we are lucky if our profit margin is 1%, $3,000 is not an insignificant sum. I was there at the time and wondered where she had gone, but as that was one of the nights we receive a freight load and was concentrating on that, I didn't think any more of it. From the story I heard later, she realized what she had done on her way back to the store, which is why I later saw her talking to a cop and the store manager walking around the store looking very agitated. I do believe we did recover the cash, however. I was surprised she kept her job, though she did step down from her managerial position on her own accord. When I'm at the store overnight, I can't leave, especially when no one else is there because I have to answer the doorbell at our back door (and the phone, for that matter) and I have no access to our safe nor do I want it. So though I'm not the most brilliant person in the world that wouldn't work with me.

When someone challenges your integrity you may give up a lot to prove your innocence. My wife got a call saying she hadn’t paid a bill and something was going to happen unless. She is a stickler for paying on time and immediately started going through her files providing info, dates, check number and as dumb as it sounds, bank account number before realizing she was scammed. Ended up having to change are business bank account.

 

[jis]

When someone challenges your integrity you may give up a lot to prove your innocence. My wife got a call saying she hadn’t paid a bill and something was going to happen unless. She is a stickler for paying on time and immediately started going through her files providing info, dates, check number and as dumb as it sounds, bank account number before realizing she was scammed. Ended up having to change are business bank account.

Never get involved in any offer to accept payment or request for personal information, in a transaction that you did not initiate using a previously known and validated telephone number. Social engineering scams come a dime a dozen these days using all means possible to get you.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

Things like this are why I don't answer scam calls or any number I don't know. Always someone trying to ask for money or personal info leading to your bank account.

 

[TaseMeBro]

It's good to see the various scam avoidance advice and general wariness of suspicious transactions in the comments.

Might be worth pointing out the way this scam was pushed - the offender set up dedicated social media presence (on Facebook and one other platform), generally used Amtrak styles and verbiage in describing and promoting the "trip", etc.

Used links and QR codes to send people to those two portals, through which the deposits were collected and "reservations" made.

To be clear - I believe 100% of the blame lies with the offender. That said, I was a little surprised to hear Amtrak didn't catch it and shut it down early - most large organizations and business both work with social media hosts, and also use their own search platforms and staff, to proactively identify and shut down stuff like this.

If I, for instance, created a "Valentines Day in Rome" package, and purported to be Delta Airlines (or whoever) to market it, it's almost a 100% certainly it would be identified and shut down by Delta and their social media integrations team in almost real time.