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'Grandparent Scam' Victim Sues Her Bank

Florida widow lost more than $700K, says bank was negligent
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 11, 2021 11:02 AM CDT
'Grandparent Scam' Victim Sues Her Bank
Stock photo.   (Getty/Ole Schwander)

The "grandparent scam" has been around for a while, but the Tampa Bay Times reports on one with a particularly large payday and an unusual legal twist. An attorney for 82-year-old Anna Nunn of Florida says his widowed client was bilked of more than $700,000—and she's suing the bank that allowed her to withdraw all that money. The lawsuit filed in Hillsborough County civil court says a scammer impersonated Nunn's granddaughter and pleaded for financial help after a car accident. Nunn continued to withdraw cash from Truist Bank as her supposed granddaughter's troubles worsened. When the money finally ran out after her 13th withdrawal, Nunn realized she'd been duped.

A Florida law requires banks to report suspected cases of exploitation to an abuse hotline, and one such call—presumably made by the bank, though Truist isn't commenting because of the pending litigation—was indeed made to the state hotline as the scam was unfolding. However, nothing came of it, and Nunn withdrew another $500,000 after the call. "We think the bank's conduct was negligent," says attorney Guy Burns. He's also trying to figure out why the state itself didn't follow through on the investigation.

An FBI release on the "grandparent scam" says it's been around since at least 2008, with the same general pattern. A scammer pretends to be a grandchild in need of help because of an emergency of some sort, typically using online sources to gather information about the grandchild in advance. The victim is usually told to keep things quiet in order to avoid trouble. Nationwide, the FBI received more than 650 reports of the scam from January 2020 to June of this year, reports WGRZ. (More scam stories.)

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