TERRELL, Texas — As we are in full holiday swing, many of us are using Amazon and other shopping sites. A local mother is warning people about a phishing scam, where she is now out thousands of dollars. It’s a scam that’s happening around the country.
"I try to spend as much time with my kids," said Anel Miralrio, a single mother of three.
At the Miralrio household, every night, her three kids wait for mom to get home so they can have dinner together.
"The kids call me when I’m on the way from work. they’re like where are you? We are at the dinner table, can we start eating?" said Miralrio.
The kids see mom’s struggle as a single mother. Miralrio works full time at a hospital to support them, and their grandmother.
‘’I’m the sole provider. I have to work. I’m lucky my mom helps me with the kids,’’ she said.
Miralrio is the sole provider who was scammed out of $6,500 after she got a phishing email, from what appears to be Amazon.
‘’That looks so legit,’’ as she was showing WFAA the email from Amazon.
The email said her Amazon account had been suspended,
"I clicked on the link, and it prompted me to change my password, and I followed their instructions," said Miralrio.
That gave the hackers access to all of her bank and personal information.
The scammers then followed up with a phone call with the same exact number from Chase Bank.
"If you call, the recording plays, and says, it’s a frontier number," said Miralrio, as we dialed the same number back.
You could hear it on the other end: "Hi, thanks for calling frontier communications."
Then Miralrio dialed the same number, 1-800-935-9935.
"If I was to dial this number, it takes you to Chase Bank," she said.
The same phishing email nearly victimized Mesquite Police Lieutenant Brandon Ricketts.
"They will send you texts or emails, in the texts there are links. The aim is to get someone to click a link and get the password," said Ricketts.
The phishing scam is happening across North Texas.
Terrell police tell us they’re seeing a lot of people fall for this scam. Many people don’t know how to come forward. First step is to go to the police station and file a police report.
While Miralrio filed a police report, she says, Chase Bank told her they can’t help her. We reached out to Chase Bank for a comment.
Now, for Christmas, she’s left with buying the kids the bare minimum.
"It hurts. I work really hard for everything," said Miralrio.
She’s warning others to not fall for this same scam.
Miralrio says she feels like she has no choice but to set up a Gofundme account, because she doesn’t want to see her kids hurting or deprived of anything.
If you would like to help the family, click here.