Tennessee woman warns others after death threats, losing $100K to man she met on fitness app

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Many fitness apps allow users to connect and encourage each other to reach their fitness goals, but experts say beware of who you are communicating with on the other side.

One Midstate woman thought she met a fitness enthusiast with shared goals on Fitbit, but that relationship took a dark turn that involved death threats and left her tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

The Middle Tennessee woman, who does not want to be identified, said the communication started as messages of encouragement on the popular app.

“Fitbit puts that badge on the app on the site, and people can like it, very much similar to Facebook,” she explained. “They can like it. They can comment.”

She says a friendship formed with one user, and when their conversations moved to a different messaging platform, he had a unique request.

The man told her he was working a job overseas and asked if she could accept a package containing several hundred thousand dollars.

“He begged and said, ‘Please, I don’t have anyone else.’ Everything seemed at that time, very legitimate.”

He then connected her to a third party he called “the company,” and that’s when she says the money requests began.

“They said it would cost $3,800 to get this package to have it shipped, so I paid that,” she said.

To accept the package, she was then told she had to pay for a special certificate that cost $25,000.

“That is when I did get a small loan,” she said. “I did do that, and I sent the 25.”

It was a $25,000 loan. She told WSMV4′s Holly Thompson she thought she would never have to pay because the man said he would be back in the states in time to pay it off.

“We’re talking lots of money. Three thousand dollars, then $25,000, so were red flags going off, or was he continuing to convince you?” asked Thompson.

“Lots of red flags at this point, but he continues to, every question I ask, he has a plausible answer,” she said. “I mean, his answers were very believable. He was good, and so I would continue to do what he asked,” she said.

Then, there was another request for money, and another … and another.

“When I finally said no more, then, he threatened that he was gonna, ya know, have my family killed if I didn’t do this,” she said.

The woman said she attempted to block the person multiple times, but the threatening messages continued.

She showed Thompson several of his messages. One text message said: “I will do anything within my power to gun you and your family down.”

“He would say, ‘I know where your son hangs out; I know where your daughter lives; I even know the bed you sleep in. I know everything about you. You can never get away from me. You will always be in my life no matter how hard you try to get out.’”

“How frightened are you at this point?” Thompson asked.

“It really is scary. It really was very scary,” she answered.

No matter how she blocked the man on email or phone accounts, she says he would always manage to get through another way.

Experts told her the user was able to trick her into downloading malware onto her computer by having her click on a music video he sent her.

“He can track her keystrokes when she’s typing in passwords. He knows her children’s names because she’s talking to her children via email or some other application on that laptop,” explained Robyn Householder, President and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee. “He knows where she banks because she’s going on and paying bills. He really has full access now to everything about her.”

Householder said never click on unsolicited links and described other signs of a scam:

· Moving Fast — They move fast and will ask personal questions relatively quickly.

· Sad Stories — They typically have some sad scenario where they need help.

· Specific instructions for financial help — They often ask that you wire money or use a prepaid debit card.

· Ask to Communicate differently — As the scammer develops a relationship, they will ask for another way to contact you or connect — outside an app.

“Always, always trust your gut. Let us know right away,” Householder said. “Report it to Scam Tracker so that we can then put everything in motion to try to shut this down.”

The Middle Tennessee woman told Thompson the harassment continued for three years and ultimately cost her about one hundred thousand dollars.

She showed WSMV4 that many of those payments were made by wire transfer. Detective Major BJ Stafford with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office told Thompson the woman’s interview with WSMV was consistent with the police report she filed with them.

The woman’s frightening ordeal now has the attention of the FBI, and Major Stafford said they will assist in any way needed. The victim stressed to Thompson: “I don’t care how smart you think you are. They can have you before you know it.”

WSMV4 reached out to Fitbit to see what security measures they have in place to protect users from bad actors.

Fitbit representatives responded saying:

“We take the security and privacy of our users very seriously and have a number of measures in place to protect them from potential threats, including encryption of data in transit and at rest, multi-factor authentication, and continuous security monitoring. In addition to these measures, we also provide regular updates and recommendations to our users through our website and app, including guidance on best practices for password management, privacy settings, and other security considerations.”

Anyone can report suspected fraud to the BBB by using BBB.org/Scamtracker.

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