DURHAM — A Durham woman Is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from elderly people who thought she was a friend. Investigators say she did it with information any person could find sitting around your house.

Beatrice McCollum faces several counts of fraud forallegedly taking out home equity loanson other people's property.

A judge reduced McCollum's bond Wednesday and she is out of prison. Fraud investigators McCollum targeted senior citizens, scamming them out of $200,000.

Police say seniors are sometimes an easy target, but it can happen to anyone.

"Financial crimes are a crime and an opportunity. Everyone leaves their information out for anybody to get access to. Unfortunately, these days, you can't trust anyone, not even family members," warns Durham Police Investigator Laird Evans.

Evans says we just do not realize how easy it is to make anyone a financial crime victim.

"It's very easy," he says. "I could get Mark Roberts' birthday and Social Security number and I could be him tomorrow."

Evans says the Durham senior citizens were fooled by someone posing as a friend. No matter who you are dealing with, there are ways to protect yourself.