American beauty queen falls victim to common Zelle trick that drained $2,000 from account — and the bank can’t do anything

A FORMER beauty queen is using her platform to warn residents and tourists of a major US city to be aware of a scam that could lose you thousands of dollars.

Briana Siaca, former Miss New York USA and current real estate agent, revealed in a video shared on TikTok over the weekend how she was targeted by the malicious scheme.

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Siaca it started explaining that she was spending her Friday listening to a podcast in New York’s Madison Square Park when she was approached by two teenagers.

The Long Island, New York, native said the boys told her they were raising funds for their basketball team that played in the South Bronx.

However, they reportedly claimed they were unable to afford their uniforms to play.

“I agreed to give them some money, but I didn’t have any money on me, so they took Venmo or Zelle,” Siaca said.

That’s when disaster struck.

She explained that one of the boys offered to enter his account information to complete the money transfer into Zelle.

“He takes my phone and starts putting his stuff away,” Siaca said.

I’m talking to the other kid who’s telling me all about his team, how well they’re doing and how much I’d be helping and so on.”

Siaca stated that at one point he noticed that the boy was taking a while to enter the information, so he took the phone back.

As they thanked them and fled, Siaca examined the transaction.

“I looked at my Zelle account and they sent themselves $2,000,” she said.

“I’m shocked,” Siaca added.

“It seems like a scary dream because these boys were apparently so sweet, innocent and charming and I thought it was really brave that they were raising money for their team.”

The New York Police Department has been warning residents and tourists about similar scams, urging anyone to never offer their phone number to people they don’t know.

In August, the department warned that scammers may target individuals asking for donations related to a sports team, school activity, or non-profit organization.

They told her a story, they said, ‘We need help,’ some charity work, and she got all groggy and just handed over the phone.

David SiacaBriana’s father

Dozens of TikTok users flooded Siaca’s comments section on her video, questioning why she wasn’t aware of the scam.

“Like you live in New York City and hand a phone to anyone. Come on, is this story real? one user commented.

“Why did you give them your phone number?!? I don’t understand,” said another.

“Why did you give your phone number,” asked a third.

Siaca responded by saying that his video was a “PSA” for those who were unaware of the scam.

Her father, David Siaca, also defended her, telling the New York Post Office the former beauty queen was going through a “bad time” after having her wisdom teeth removed that day.

“They put her on some really strong medication and she was sitting there, very groggy, trying to take a moment after the surgery and they were watching her,” he said.

“They told her a story, said, ‘We need help,’ some charity work, and she got all groggy and just handed over the phone.”

He went on to criticize teenagers, saying they are “like predators”.

Siaca revealed that he contacted his bank after the incident but said there was not much they could do.

When sending money digitally through a platform like Zelle, it can be extremely difficult to retrieve the funds once they have been sent.

However, she noted that local police were “beyond helpful.”

The New York Police Department is asking anyone who has fallen victim to a similar scam to report the incident immediately.

Zelle did not immediately respond to US Sun’s request for comment.