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An elderly man lost his entire life savings to an elaborate scam that drained his bank account, ending his retirement plans.
65-year-old Hiep Nguyen of Houston, Texas, says he received a phone call with the caller ID of the “Vietnam Embassy,” the embassy of his native country, the local news station KPRC-2 reports.
But Nguyen says answering that phone call led him to lose $500,000 – the entirety of his life’s work.
“I lost maybe $500,000… I may be homeless now.”
The con artists who masterminded the scam convinced Nguyen that his identity was being used to commit various crimes overseas, like money laundering, and in order to clear his name, the soon-to-be-retired man supposedly had to wire over his money to another bank.
The criminals, who are yet to be identified, used an encrypted messaging app called Viber to send wire transfer details, along with fake government documents to make it seem more legitimate.
After losing everything, Nguyen’s daughter, Kathy, is now supporting him, and says she is in the process of selling her house to make ends meet.
Says Kathy,
“Watch out for your family. Your mom, dad, grandma, grandpas. Just let them know that something like this could happen, and just be careful.”
The Nguyens have filed a report with the FBI, but at time of writing, the scammers are at large.
