Laura McFarling, an 81-year-old widow from West Memphis, says her life savings vanished after slick scammers talked her into moving most of her money, then wiring $37,600 to people pretending to be Microsoft technical support and bank representatives. She told reporters it all started when she tried to fix a glitchy computer, clicked on a frightening pop-up, and dialed the number it provided. Now, she says, she is hunting for paid work and leaning hard on family to stay afloat.
According to Action News 5, the pop-up listed a phone number that McFarling called. A man who introduced himself as “Steve” guided her through typing commands on her computer and told her, “you have six scammers on your computer.” He then transferred her to someone who claimed to be a bank representative and insisted she avoid contacting her bank. That second caller directed her to open a “Solo Account” to hide her money from supposed hackers, instructions McFarling followed until relatives realized she had been duped.
Her family believes isolation and caregiving stress left her more vulnerable. McFarling has long cared for her 42-year-old son with special needs, who only recently moved into an adult care facility. “I can not believe that my aunt, as smart as she is, got taken like this,” her nephew Bruce Caballero told Action News 5. Relatives have launched an online fundraiser to cover the loss and immediate bills, and McFarling has filed complaints with local police, the FBI, and the Federal Trade Commission.
Scams Hitting Seniors Cost Millions
National data shows McFarling is far from alone. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported $16.6 billion in reported losses in 2024, with tech support scams responsible for about $1.46 billion of that total. People 60 and older reported roughly $4.8 billion in losses, underscoring why older adults are such frequent targets. Those national figures put individual cases like McFarling’s into a sobering wider frame. FBI IC3 report
How The Scheme Works
In tech support scams, criminals usually trigger a fake error message or pop-up that flashes an urgent warning and a phone number. Once a victim calls, scammers often pressure them to grant remote access or to move money into what they claim are “safe” accounts. Microsoft cautions that it “will never proactively reach out to you to provide unsolicited PC or technical support” and that legitimate error messages do not include phone numbers. That mix of fear, urgency, and phony authority is how fraudsters turn confusion into cash. Microsoft
What To Do If You Or A Loved One Is Targeted
If you suspect you have been scammed, stop sending money immediately, contact your bank at once, and file a report with local law enforcement and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. You should also submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, and the Arkansas Attorney General offers consumer alerts and local reporting resources for Arkansans. Acting quickly can improve the odds of recovering funds and help investigators identify and shut down call centers and criminal networks. The FBI IC3 report and the Arkansas Attorney General provide detailed guidance and contact information.
For McFarling, the scam has left a small West Memphis family scrambling, but she says she is speaking out in hopes that her loss might save someone else. Her relatives are trying to bridge the gap with their fundraiser, and McFarling is urging older friends and neighbors to slow down, verify, and call someone they trust before moving a single dollar.
