She hopes her story serves as a warning to women everywhere.
Janella Spears (no relation to Britney) of Sweet Home, Oregon received an email that promised her $20 million that was supposedly left behind by her grandfather (J.B. Spears), with whom the family had lost contact over the years. "So that's what got me to believe it," she told KVAL.
She sent the scammers just $100 initially, but then they started asking for more and more. Before long, she had mortgaged her home, taken out loans on her paid-off car, and wiped out her deaf husband's retirement account. All in all, she sent the email scammers an astounding $400,000.
Janella hopes her story serves as a cautionary tale for other women, so they don't become victims like she did. Here are some tips to avoid email fraud, courtesy of the FBI:
• If you receive a letter asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office, or the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. You can also register a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel.
• If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.
• Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
• Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
• Guard your account information carefully.
Have you ever been the target of an Internet scam?
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