Mississippi man loses $620 to insurance scam
A Corinth resident was defrauded by a caller posing as a life insurance agent days after his sister died.
By Amanda Valdez ·
Tim Williams of Corinth, Mississippi, lost $620 to a phone scam that targeted him immediately after the death of his sister. The caller impersonated a life insurance agent to extract funds intended for funeral expenses.
Stephanie Jeanine Williams Machado died recently, leaving her brother in a vulnerable financial and emotional state. Shortly after her passing, a woman called Williams and identified herself as the insurance agent handling Stephanie’s policy. She provided specific account numbers and policy numbers to establish credibility. The agent told Williams that the insurance company required $1,375 to release payment to the Corinthian Funeral Home.
Williams arranged a three-way phone call with the agent and the funeral home. During the call, the participants discussed the transfer of funds, which led Williams to believe the transaction was legitimate. He possessed only $620 in available cash at the time. The agent instructed him to send the funds via Cash App or by visiting the insurance office. Williams chose the digital route and transferred the money to his nephew, who sent the funds through the app to the designated account.
The funeral home later informed Williams that it had not received the payment. He then investigated the phone number provided by the caller. The number belonged to a man residing in Alabama, not the woman who had spoken to him. The name on the Cash App account also did not match the caller's identity. Williams described the perpetrator as a low individual for exploiting a grieving family member. He advised others who lose loved ones to verify all details of insurance claims and payment requests thoroughly.
No further legal proceedings or scheduled hearings were mentioned in the account of the incident. The case remains an active matter of personal financial loss for Williams.
Source: KCTV5
