Donna Ouchida, an 82-year-old from Sacramento County, California, lost $35,000 in a scam that began with a message asking her to verify a suspicious charge.
"I got this message that said, is this 200 and something dollars charge yours? If not, call this number," Ouchida said.
Just a week earlier, one of her credit cards had been compromised, so she called the number.
On the other end, a man claiming to be from the U.S. Treasury warned her that her identity had been stolen.
"That credit cards had been opened in my name all over the world, and I got scared," Ouchida said.
Then he sent a warrant, supposedly for her arrest.
"They said we need you to show you're not laundering money," she said.
To prove her innocence, she was told to send $50,000 in cash.
After arranging with her bank,