Kansas woman homeless after falling prey to IRS scam

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A Wichita woman says she is now homeless after falling prey to scammers claiming to be from the IRS. 

For 70-year-old Susan Ballinger, the last year and a half has been rife with personal struggles. In addition to having back surgery, her husband of 54 years passed away in January 2022.

Ballinger says that in April, she received a Facebook message from a family member claiming there was a way to receive money supposedly owed to her by the IRS. She then connected to someone she thought was an IRS agent via Facebook Messenger, a decision she says resulted in her losing everything.

"That was my rent money, my car payment money," Ballinger said. "So, I got evicted. Never, ever been evicted."

Ballinger says a scammer claiming to be from the IRS promised her $90,000 in grant money. However, Ballinger had to provide personal information and pay several fees upfront before she could get it. In two months, she paid the scammer a total of $3,500.

"I used the Apple gift card, and I used my Cash App," Ballinger said. "I should have known better."

This is happening as government-impostor scams are on the rise. According to the Better Business Bureau, the amount of money lost to government-related scams nationwide in 2020 was roughly $175M. In 2021, that number was more than $445 million.  

"If you send money via Western Union, prepaid gift cards, or any sort of gift card, whether that be iTunes, Apple, it is very unlikely, if not impossible, that you will get any money back," Denise Groene with the BBB said.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett says to watch out for anyone claiming to be from a government body attempting official business through social media. 

"No federal, state, local, county, city agency that handles taxes, handles money are going to send messages to you by Facebook Messenger, by any social media," Bennett said.

As for Ballinger, the search for a new home continues. She has since filed a police report hoping no one else falls victim to the same scam. 

"Facebook is gone," Ballinger said. "So is Cash App. I'm getting rid of all that. I'm not going to do anything more with the medium. I'm just going to be strictly done with it."

The IRS does have a tax scams section on its website. Bennett says if you think you've fallen prey to a scam, contact law enforcement as soon as possible.