Jeffrey Maas (not pictured) has filed a civil lawsuit after being conned out of $390,000.
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When Jeffrey Mass and his wife retired, they had planned to use part of their savings to travel to Europe and take foreign cruises.They also wanted to leave inheritance money for their adult kids and establish college funds for their two young grandchildren. "We had this idea of how we wanted to spend our golden years and include a legacy," Maas, 77, told Business Insider.The couple's future is unlikely to look anything like they'd hoped: Maas was scammed out of his $390,000 nest egg — around half his life savings — by cybercriminals who struck twice.The scammer said he represented PayPalMaas received an email on June 5, 2024, claiming to acknowledge a $691.05 payment for Norton Antivirus identity theft protection software.The email was not, in fact, from Norton, but from the scammers. Maas, a former human relations professional, who had not ordered the service, called the "helpline" number listed.He reached a man, who called himself Jason Green and said he was an agent for PayPal. He said he could refund the money if Maas filled out an online form.The senior provided details, including his bank name and the last four digits of his PNC checking and money accounts. Unbeknownst to Maas, the scammer had also taken control of his computer.
