A WOMAN was scammed out of more than $80,000 in a subtle bank scam – and she doesn’t think she’ll ever get her money back.
The Memphis, Tennessee, resident said she believes her identity was stolen, allowing thieves to steal her money without her knowing for months.
two
The victim, who asked not to be identified, said he had been faithfully depositing money into a Wells Fargo debit account for five years.
And then, one day in March, she realized it was all over.
“There were two transactions worth over $81,000,” she told reporters on the local Fox affiliate. TVTV.
She had only withdrawn money from the account a few times over the years and rarely checked the balance.
Read more about banking scams
The fraudulent transactions occurred in November.
The woman immediately called the bank to investigate, she said.
“I couldn’t believe this was happening to me and I didn’t expect anything to come out of that account. I called the bank immediately,” she said.
NO TIME, NO LUCK
But Wells Fargo reportedly told her she was out of luck.
The bank eventually explained that the money was transferred to a Citibank account opened with his name and social security number.
The only warning sign was that the fake account was opened with a different phone number, she added.
“I need to check my account every day or if you had told us within two hours, we would have stopped the transaction from happening,” the woman said the bank told her.
“They didn’t even send an alert. This makes me very angry,” she added.
Citibank said it also could not refund the money, the woman told local reporters.
Although both Citibank and Wells Fargo are FDIC insured, the problem may be that the victim did not dispute the transactions until months after they were completed.
In most states, consumers have 60 days from the date they receive their bill statement to file a complaint.
“I want them to return or refund my money,” the woman said.
Top tips to avoid bank scams
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important that you know how to identify them:
- Be skeptical of online businesses that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers often use tactics to make you panic so that you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are asked to take immediate action and check who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or on the phone, as this is likely a romantic scam.
- Unless you know 100% who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at ATMs and always be careful when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click on links that indicate you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
THERE IS NO RETURN
Identity fraud affects millions of people every year, sometimes bankrupting victims.
Americans lost $43 billion in 2023 due to the wide range of scams that fall into this category, according to the AARP.
For the victim in Tennessee, the lack of protection from her banks is her biggest problem, she said.
“I’m going to withdraw my money from that bank,” said the woman.
“I’m not leaving my money there the minute I get it. I’m changing banks and never trusting a bank that doesn’t care about their customers.”
Wells Fargo Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The US Sun.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
