Concord man, 76, scammed out of life savings, now facing tax bill
Chet Frilich was so intent on not getting scammed, he got scammed.
A caller told the 76-year-old Concord resident on March 2 that he was from Xfinity's cybersecurity department. Frilich's Xfinity Wi-Fi was allegedly compromised, as the man explained someone in Nigeria hacked into Frilich's computer and used his information and $5,000 from his bank account to open a crypto account in another country.
The official-sounding caller told Frilich -- a retiree whose only income is Social Security -- he'd check Frilich's computer remotely to run a test, which he supposedly did. At least it looked that way.
The caller instructed Frilich how to change his router's name and password. He then provided authentic-looking "proof" of the supposed fraudulent account overseas on Frilich's computer screen, then said a technician would be over within two days to change the router and a port switch.
The ease with which the caller took over Frilich's computer remotely from an unknown location convinced Frilich he was dealing with the real deal.
"I thought he was really from Xfinity," Frilich said, five months and more than $190,000 later. "He was showing me things on my screen."
"I never expected someone to brainwash me into doing this," he said.
"This" was months of trying to untangle the mess that started March 4, involving two police departments, the IRS, the U.S. Secret Service, accusations of wire fraud, suspicious men showing up to collect money, chest pains, lost sleep, and a 76-year-old man losing his life savings and trying to figure out what to do next.
According to the FBI, scams targeting individuals 60 and older caused over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023 -- an increase of approximately 11% from the year prior.
The average victim of elder fraud lost $33,915 due to these crimes in 2023.
The FBI said older Americans seem disproportionately impacted by scams and fraud, with more than 101,000 victims 60 and over reporting this kind of crime to the agency's Internet Crime Complaint Center in 2023.
In contrast, victims under the age of 20 seem to be the least-impacted demographic, with about 18,000 victims in that demographic reporting suspected scams or frauds to the FBI in 2023.
Tech support scams -- like the one targeting Frilich -- were the most widely reported kind of elder fraud in 2023.
In Frilich's case, the fraudsters not only imitated Xfinity workers, they threatened to bring the government down on him, later posing as Federal Trade Commission officials.
The fake FTC told Frilich he was being investigated for wire fraud, thanks to the fictitious crypto account in his name.
"I'm an idiot," Frilich said. "But the government is supposed to protect you."
So he believed them when the caller listed all of his current and past credit cards, going back 40 years.
"He asked me to verify those he showed as active," Friillich said. "He also knew all of my bank information, Social Security and Medicare information."
The man told Frilich not to tell anyone about the investigation or his bank funds would be seized -- including incoming Social Security money -- unless he cooperated. The fraudster said agents were watching Frilich, and he needed to report when he withdrew money and when he came and went from his home.
"I was trying to verify as much as I could," said Frilich, a remarkably cheerful man for someone cheated out of his life savings. "My only income is Social Security, so I was about 10 feet in the air over the whole thing."
The fraudster said Frilich's money needed to be placed in a "secure wallet" in Washington, D.C. until the situation was resolved and told him exactly how much to withdraw from his accounts. The caller demanded to watch through Frillich's computer camera as he packaged the money and waited for a courier to come get it.
"The couriers came to my house several times," Frilich said. "The day after the money was given to a courier, I received an email from the 'Treasury Department' stating how much money was received and put it the secure wallet."
The process played out four or five times with different couriers. He ended up sending $182,000 in cash and gold (they asked him to buy gold bars at one point). Another $8,500 has been listed by police as "missing."
"They knew my movements," Frilich said. "I knew this because one of my banks was in Vacaville and I didn't know how to get there and when I went to the wrong one, they (called me) and gave me directions."
Frilich -- who used to work for as security company, where he "used to help people from getting scammed" -- said he really became suspicious when told couriers weren't available, so Frilich needed to use UPS to send money to an "agent" in Huntington Beach, which turned out to be a UPS pickup point at a CVS store.
When the package containing $8,500 arrived, a CVS employee halted the nonsense when the person arriving to pick it up lacked proper documentation. The employee instead gave it to their regular UPS driver to return the package.
"But UPS says they never got it back," Frilich said. "So either the UPS guy took it or CVS never gave it to him."
The employee also called Huntington Beach police, who told Frilich they watched 15 minutes of store video supposedly taken when the employee gave the package to their normal UPS driver. Police told him they saw no exchange take place and Concord would be the lead agency.
Frilich contacted Concord police, who examined his computer and removed a program allowing the scammers to monitor him. He said police put him in touch with the Secret Service, who traced the scammers' IP address, then told him his money was gone and probably in India.
"That's a lot of money, but it's not unheard of," said Concord Police Lt. Mark Robison, who said Frilich's case is technically still open, but the money is probably gone. He's seen similar scams.
"Even some of the couriers are unsuspecting of the plan," Robison said. "No one from the government is going to do that type of request over the phone, and they're not going to ask you for money."
"It seems obvious, but it isn't," Robison said. "It happens all the time. If someone is uncertain, they should call their local police department. In this case, the clerk at CVS suspected something was wrong. People should step in if something seems suspicious."
Frilich said Huntington Beach police didn't take a report, because they considered the package lost. He said the FBI took a report, but said there was little they could do. Same for the real Secret Service and the real FTC, the latter telling him "These are professionals and they've been doing this for years."
"Nobody's doing anything about it; that's what really ticks me off," Frilich said.
Adding insult to injury, he may not be done paying for his honest mistakes. Because much of the money was from IRAs and CDs, the IRS told Frilich he will owe them $32,000. He's afraid if he doesn't pay, they'll put a lien on his home.
It stressed him to the point where, back in March, he suffered chest pains and believed he was having a heart attack. After tests, doctors said it was anxiety.
"I'm just glad I didn't have a heart attack," Frilich said. "I put up a pretty good front. But if I didn't have good friends, I probably would've killed myself."
The scammers gave up after the CVS episode. Frilich's accounts were just about dry anyway. He was saving the money for a possible trip to Denmark and in case he needed it for health reasons. Friends have started a GoFundMe account for the 76-year-old, which contained $1,350 as of Tuesday afternoon.
The account can be found at https://gofund.me/279e4013.
Frilich said the ordeal is embarrassing, but there's a reason he's sharing his story beyond publicizing a GoFundMe account.
"Maybe somebody out there won't be scammed," he said. "That would be the most wonderful thing."