In my 23 years in law enforcement, I’ve seen many people scammed. Most schemes involved hiding behind computer screens, renting nonexistent apartments or exploiting a grandparent’s love by asking for a grandchild’s fake bail. However, I found myself on the other side of the report after my father became a victim. My mother and father lost most of their life savings.

Last year, my father received a fake invoice by email. Seeking clarification, he called the “customer service” number listed and was connected to a sophisticated criminal syndicate. The scammers convinced him they needed to issue a refund, persuading him to provide banking information, which granted them remote access to his computer.

Manipulating his screen to show an erroneous $300,000 credit, the scammer claimed this “mistake” would cost one of them his job unless my father helped fix it. Following their instructions, my father went to his bank, wired $300,000........

© NY Daily News