Glen Cove Woman Scammed Out Of $500K: Fundraiser

GLEN COVE, NY — A Glen Head woman lost over $500,000 in a real estate scam in January, according to a GoFundMe account set up to help her out financially. Lynn Wiedmer, 57, was set to close on a home, but was scammed and is now struggling to move forward without her life savings, the page says.

According to the GoFundMe page, Wiedmer had been setting up a home purchase and had already sent a $56,000 down payment to her lawyer in late December. The closing was set for Jan. 10.

On Dec. 30, 2019, Wiedmer got an email from her attorney saying they were ready for the closing. The email asked her to send the remaining balance due, $504,000, the GoFundMe page says, including account and routing numbers.

"I’ll be on jury duty, so you won’t be able to reach me by phone," the email said.

"This email looked legit," the GoFundMe page says. "It appeared to be from her lawyer, had all the correct names and figures and even copied the real estate agent representing Lynn. There were enough details that Lynn did not question it. She went to her bank and had them execute the wire transfer."

The email address, however, had one letter changed. The scammer created the email account and made the email look as if it were from the attorney. It's called "spoofing."

Newsday reported the domain name used was "opptonline.net," which had an extra "p" added to the real domain name.

"The bottom of my life fell out," Wieder said, according to the report.

"I could have funded a terrorist group... I have no idea who did this to me. They’re faceless," she told Newsday. "It’s not like I can look at them and say, 'You did this to me.'"

One letter in the real estate agent's email address had been changed as well.

Wiedmer, once she realized what happened, contacted her bank, the Nassau County Police Department and the FBI. The funds have already been transferred between accounts and had left the United States, making them untraceable, the GoFundMe says.

At the time of publishing, the GoFundMe page for Wiedmer has raised $3,180 of its $250,000 goal.