Michigan Man Targeted By Scammers Takes His Own Life

Scammers are believed to be behind the death of a St. Charles man. His family believes that the man had been taken for thousands of dollars, and felt pressured to end his own life.

Evidence Points to Scammers

In the video below, the man's son tells WJRT-TV that he's found multiple receipts and activation codes for gift cards from local dollar stores. Many of the receipts were in the amount of $500.

The victim also had a letter from a company known as PCH Mega Millions Sweepstakes Company. The letter indicated that he had won a top prize, but needed to send in $10,000 in order to claim it.

After the man's death, the family took a call on his phone from someone who they believed to be a scammer. The caller asked if the man had harmed himself, which led the family to think he was pressured to take his own life.

Financial Institutions Raise Red Flags on Scams

Staying one step ahead of scammers is practically a full-time job. There are Smishing scams, Quishing scams, gift card scams, and even a bank scam that appears legitimate to even the savviest customers.

ELGA Credit Union recently issued a warning to its members saying that bad actors may be posing as ELGA employees in order to steal money.

Security Credit Union is hosting a series of seminars in March to educate members on fraud prevention, focusing on keeping loved and vulnerable adults safe from scams. More information is available here.