5 On Your Side

Woman victimized twice when others see her as the scammer

A woman told 5 On Your Side that a scammer is now using her information on fake checks he is sending.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A woman told 5 On Your Side that a scammer is now using her information on fake checks he is sending.

"I got calls from the chief of police, from all different states, who even got my checks," said Shelly McGarry.

The checks are printed with her name and valid information, including the bank she uses.

"They made checks that look exactly like my checks," McGarry said. "The only thing they did is they fudged all the numbers on the bottom."

McGarry said she is emotionally shattered by the fallout.

"You have no idea what this has done to me. No idea," she said. "People think it's no big deal, but it's my identity."

McGarry thinks it all started when she responded to a random text about a government grant.

"He wouldn't leave me alone. I mean, he was texting me every day," she said.

She said the texts went on for months.

McGarry insists she never sent the person any personal information, and she still doesn't know who the scammer is or where in the world he's operating from.

Detective David Bird, who investigates fraud for the Cary Police Department, says the names, phone numbers and addresses scammers give when they try to lure people are also fake.

"Finding out the true identity is very difficult," he said. "It's a phone app, or the name, there's four zillion of these names, or that name doesn't exist at all."

Phone apps let users create temporary phone numbers that appear local, but can be from anywhere in the world. They can also auto dial countless numbers every minute.

"Whether it was an email scam, or a computer scam, or phone scam you're probably going to get repeated phone calls," Bird said.

McGarry said she has changed her number and now constantly worries about what's next.

"It's mind boggling to me how one person can do all this damage," she said.

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