Berkshire County veteran scammed out of $500K
NORTH ADAMS, MASS (NEWS10) — A Berkshire County Veteran says a simple scroll on his computer led to a virus notification then the loss of his life savings. Now, community members have raised funds to help him recoup some of the lost money.
Robert Hansen, 75, served his country in Vietnam. He’s now involved in a different fight: trying to recoup his life savings.
“It was a simple matter of being on the computer and then the screen locked up," said Harris.
Hansen says he was browsing online when his screen froze and he received a false pop-up notification about a "computer virus". When he called the a number on his screen — supposedly from a hotline that could remove viruses — the operator asked him for money.
The scammer claimed to be from Microsoft then transferred Hansen to a supposed US Treasury Department Agent who told Hansen his name and address were involved in a money laundering scheme. Hansen paid in cash installments, the scammers also came to his house to take the money.
“I lived alone so I had no one to say, what are you doing, you know" said Hansen.
But Hansen didn’t tell anyone because the scammers swore him to secrecy. “He would say we can't tell anybody could be somebody in the bank, we don't know who it is at this point,” Hansen explained.
In total, the thieves nabbed about $400,000 in cash. They also deceived Hansen into taking out a $100,000 home equity line of credit.
“He's just the kind of guy that literally gave everybody everything and saved his whole entire life to give it away," said Hansen's sister Pamela Wilk.
The US Attorney’s Office says Urvishkumar Vipulkumar Patel, 21, the courier who collected the cash from Hansen, was indicted Tuesday in Boston. Wilk says Investigators are still searching for his co-conspirators. She even organized a GoFundMe page that raised over $10,000.
“It makes me feel good, really you know, that, with all the craziness in the world, there’s still good people,” said Hansen.
The Veteran seems to be taking it in stride.
“It wasn’t like I was going to spend the money, it was for members of the family like her kids, her grandkids,”
According to Wilk, authorities say there's little chance of recouping Hansen's money. Hansen says he can get by on his VA Pension and Social Security checks, but his sister worries about his $100,000 Home Equity debt.