Tanya Gills Steps Up to Protect a Scam Victim

It is a sad fact that scams are consistently on the rise here at home. In fact, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), approximately one in ten adults in the United States are victims to a scam or fraud each year.

Branch Partner Tanya Gills received a referral from a local bank to talk with one of their senior clients named Carolyn about a reverse mortgage. After talking with Carolyn, Tanya identified several troubling red flags that were deeply harming Carolyn’s financial livelihood through fraud. She knew she needed to step up to the plate and help!

After determining the main points of communication and how the scammer was stealing from Carolyn, Tanya drove her to get her phone number changed, block the numbers of the scammer, and she even helped her file reports with both the police station and the FBI. However, Tanya and Carolyn kept getting the same answer that very little could be done due to legal and jurisdiction limits. Ultimately, the criminal was finally caught and put in jail for a different crime he committed.

While Tanya hates the terrible situation that she found Carolyn in, she was so glad that she was able to help guide her towards a favorable conclusion. “Somebody has to stand up for people like Carolyn. I’m so glad I could meet her and help her get through this extremely difficult situation.”

“If you have help and support, you can get through almost everything,” says Carolyn. “Tanya went out of her way to help me as much as she could. She is always there when I need her, even today. This was a difficult learning experience for me, but Tanya was there for me every step of the way.”

What started as a business referral eventually turned into a close friendship. It turns out that Tanya, Carolyn, and Nina (one of Tanya’s co-workers at her Virginia Beach branch) all have birthdays within a four-day range in March, so they started a new birthday tradition to celebrate together at a favorite restaurant each year.