Michigan Woman Loses $42,000 in Fake 'Federal Reserve' Wire Scam

A 73-year-old woman in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, has fallen victim to a scam that cost her $42,000. On July 27, she received a pop-up message and email from 'Microsoft' claiming her IP address had been tracked and money had been taken from her bank account.

The scammers convinced the woman to go to Lowe's and purchase $6,000 worth of gift cards, which they claimed were necessary to recover the stolen funds. However, the money was actually being sent to a fake 'Federal Reserve' address via wire transfer, totaling $36,000.

The Traverse City Police Department is investigating the scam, but believe it's unlikely that the woman will be able to reverse the wire transfer.