A scammer posing as Elon Musk has reportedly fleeced a woman out of hundreds of thousands.
Taking to social media, one person shared a picture of an official-looking 'letter' claiming to be from Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
It appears to be addressed to the woman's husband and goes into detail about an alleged investment in Tesla.
This includes saying that in order for her to 'access' the funds that she has already put in, she has to put in further money, adding that 'remaining disbursements' will be 'processed' after 'the final payment of £10,000 ($13,500) is received'.
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At the bottom of the 'letter', there is also Musk's name, and it appears as though the businessman signed off on the communication.
The poster took to the comments underneath the image to share the 'sad' situation.
They revealed that their mother-in-law had become 'convinced' that she was communicating with Musk, and that she believed she was investing in a private stock that the public didn't have access to.
"This has been going on for years," they said. "She’s doesn’t believe anyone that it’s fake or a scam.
"She thinks she talks to Elon musk daily via WhatsApp and his entire board."
The user revealed that they have taken extreme steps to try and stop the awful scam from continuing, but sadly to no avail.
"We’ve had police get involved, we’ve had doctors get involved, we’ve had banks get involved and everyone says they can’t do anything about it unless she’s a danger to herself or others," they wrote.
The poster despaired over what they could even do to stop the scam, saying: "We don’t know what to do about it anymore and she’s practically broke now.
"Even if this went viral and Elon Musk addressed it, she wouldn’t believe it.
"She would say that’s what he has to do in the public to keep her investment a secret."
Many social media users shared their support for the poster, with some suggesting they could try contacting a fraud reporting center for help.
Sadly, scams involving people posing as Musk are far from unique.
A similar situation happened to a woman in Jensen Beach, Florida, who told Fox News: "He kept telling me it was my lucky day. I had just won a new white Tesla and $250,000 in cash.
"All I needed to do was send him an Apple Gift Card for $200. So I did. Well, $800 later, he wanted more to pay for the broken-down truck that was on its way to my house to deliver my winnings."
UNILAD has contacted Tesla for comment.
How to spot a scam
The Federal Trade Commission lists four signs that you can watch out for to tell that something is a scam.
These include scammers pretending to be someone that you know, such as an insurance or utility company, or a government office.
Scammers will often say that there is either a problem or a prize at stake to create an incentive for you to do something.
Either you will be rewarded if you give them money, like in the above case, or you have to pay money to make a fake problem go away, for example, they might pose as the IRS and claim that you owe thousands.
They will also put pressure on you to act immediately - so if we take this fake IRS example, they might claim that if you don't pay within 24 hours, then the 'fine' will double.
This is likely to stop you thinking about it, or speaking to other people either of which might make you realize what is happening.
Finally, they may ask you to pay in a specific way, which is often difficult to trace, e.g. cryptocurrency or putting money on a gift card.
Topics: Crime, Elon Musk, Money, Technology
Kit Roberts