A SCAMMER posed as a Chase Bank representative, tricking a woman into handing over more than $15,000 to resolve an issue with her account.
Police in New York City are looking for a suspect who claimed to be a bank employee, calling the 77-year-old victim on May 20.
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The fake representative told the woman that her account had been hacked and that she needed to send money to resolve the issue.
The suspect took a taxi to the woman’s home in Great Kills, Staten Island, to collect her $15,500 before getting back into the taxi and leaving.
Footage from a captured doorbell camera the suspecta woman described as having a heavy build and wearing glasses, brunette hair in a ponytail and wearing a blue mask.
She was last seen wearing a black hoodie with gold lettering and black jeans.
Anyone with information is being encouraged to call the NYPD Police Department.
Scams on the Rise
Scams are becoming more elaborate in the US, with several entities warning consumers to be on the lookout for telltale signs.
The United States Postal Service has warned against several text messaging scams called “smishing.”
Similar to phishing scams, smishing deals with unsolicited SMS messages.
“Victims will typically receive a deceptive text message intended to trick the recipient into providing their personal or financial information,” the document stated. USPS.
“These scams often attempt to pose as a government agency, bank or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims.”
Scammers often try to trick victims by telling them that their accounts have been compromised, that a package is waiting for them, or that there is a problem with their shipping address.
Minnesota resident April Hegna faced a similar incident in May after receiving a message about a suspicious $500 purchase made at Walgreens, the NBC affiliate reported. KTTC-TELEVISION.
She later received a call from a number matching her bank, who called claiming to be an employee.
The caller sent Hegna a code from an email that appeared to be from the bank.
However, days later, Hegna learned that $9,300 had been taken from his account.
Phone scam statistics
Americans are bombarded with three billion spam calls per month. What are the numbers regarding the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudsters
- In 2022, Americans lost an estimated $39.5 billion to phone fraud, with 68.4 million US citizens affected, according to TechReport.
- The average phone scam victim lost $567.41 each in 2021, a huge increase from the figure of $182 per victim in 2021, according to Hiya.
- Most scams happen over the phone, with fraudsters twice as likely to call compared to text in 2021, as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports.
- In 2021, the US saw a 56% increase in spam phone calls, with 60% of those robocalls.
- US residents receive an average of 18 spam phone calls per month, although some experts believe the real number could be as high as 31 per month.
- Many phone calls from reputable companies can be mistakenly marked as spam, but 38% of companies have no idea whether they are being marked as “potential fraud” or not, according to Hiya.
- Never provide personal or financial information if you suspect a phone call is a scam. For example, your bank will never ask for these full details over the phone.
- To reduce spam calls and scams, sign up for the Do Not Call Registry. Telemarketers, by law, will need to check this list before calling you.
- Downloading third-party apps like Hiya, Nomorobo or Truecaller can help filter annoying spam calls.
- Try not to share your phone number unless necessary, especially online or with sketchy sources.
Often, in these cases, it is rare for the victim to obtain their money back as scammers will trick them into authorizing transactions or withdrawals.
Because of this, it is difficult for banks to investigate since the victim has given permission.
Banks often tell consumers to never respond to messages asking for personal information.
Legitimate merchants will never ask customers to send unique access codes or PINs.
US Sun has reached out to Chase and the NYPD for comment.
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