Scammer Uses Facebook Information To Scam Grandmother Out Of $2,000

We have a consumer warning for you, after a senior citizen was scammed out of a lot of money by a mysterious phone caller.

The caller claimed to be a loved one needing help.

Zeldena Cooper is a sweet grandmother who already has her Christmas decorations up.

She said she was excited to get a recent phone call.

"He called on the phone and said hello, Grandma, this is Josh," Cooper said.

She said she doesn't get to talk to her grandson much, let alone see him in person, because he is stationed with the Army in Germany.

"There wasn't a doubt in my mind it wasn't my grandson," Cooper said.

But Cooper says she should have doubted it. It turns out, it wasn't her grandson calling—it was a scam artist.

The scammer told her he won a trip to Cancun, was involved in a wreck, and needed money.

"He said they took his passport and unless he has $2,000 to give him, he wouldn't get his passport back. And he had to get out the next day to report back to the Army," Cooper said.

Cooper said it sounded so convincing. With a little Facebook research, the scammer knew so much personal information about the family.

"He hacked into their Facebook account, and that's how he found out he was in the Army, he was married, his wife's name, the baby's name, he has a grandma," Cooper said.

So, Cooper wired the $2,000, and later found out she'd been scammed.

"You know, with your grandkids, you want to help them if they're in trouble," Cooper said.

Cooper said she realizes she'll never see any of the money again, and wishes she would have asked the caller more questions.

"The Good Lord was telling me don't do it," Cooper said. "And I just thought this is my grandson, I'm going to do it."

Now, especially with the holidays coming up, she regrets it. She said she's on guard now, and wants others to be wary too.

"It makes me feel really dumb, that I would fall for that," Cooper said.