An 89-year-old resident of Lee County says she lost nearly half of her life savings after falling prey to a sophisticated phone scam – and despite her plea, Citibank is reportedly refusing to reimburse her.
According to local reports, Eileen Brice received a call from individuals claiming to be bank representatives, who convinced her that there was suspicious activity on her account.
They instructed Brice to transfer money to a “safe” account. Believing them, she complied – only to later discover that nearly 50% of her savings was gone.
With her husband having recently passed, Brice says the loss is not only financial but also deeply personal.
She reached out to Citibank, explaining that she trusted the callers and followed what seemed like official instructions, yet the bank denied her claim.
For now, the Lee County woman remains out of a large portion of her savings, with no assurance that Citibank will make any restitution. Her case joins a growing list of similar stories, underscoring the urgent need for stronger protections for elderly banking customers.
Financial fraud targeting the elderly has become a growing problem.
In Massachusetts, Scott Kelley, 51, allegedly stole over $330,000 in cash from mailed packages, laundered the cash and failed to report it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
And in Texas, scammers who pretended to represent the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office contacted retired US Air Force Tech Sgt. Bill Phillips by phone and informed him that he had two outstanding arrest warrants.
The scammers contacted retired US Air Force Tech Sgt. Bill Phillips by phone and informed him that he had two outstanding arrest warrants, pushing him into wiring thousands of dollars to the fraudsters.
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