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Officials are warning customers about hoax calls from banks that could trick them into emptying their accounts, with scammers posing as bank or law enforcement officials claiming they are trying to protect customer money.
The FBI has described these calls as a growing problem in which customers are convinced to wire their money, costing them thousands of dollars, according to ABC.
The agency has said spoofing and phishing schemes are designed to trick victims into providing sensitive information such as passwords or banking PINs. Suspected cyber fraud can be reported through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Chase customer Jennifer Lichthardt described how she lost $40,000 after receiving a hoax call.
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Officials are warning customers about bank calls that could tempt them to empty their accounts. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“The first call I got was the number on the back of my Chase debit card and it said Chase Fraud Department,” Lichthardt told ABC 7.
The scammers, who pretended to be calling from her bank’s number, said Chase employees had access to accounts. They claimed to represent Chase and even the FBI.
“They read me my account number. They had my account balance down to the cent,” Lichthardt said. “They had fake FBI agents who gave me an agent number.”
Lichthardt was eventually convinced to transfer nearly $40,000 from her Chase account to a new so-called “secure” Chase account at her local branch and transfer thousands more dollars to another online bank. The money she sent later disappeared.
She told what happened after she realized she had been scammed the next morning.
Lichthardt described feeling “financially violated” after the incident.
Chase said “her money was withdrawn from the scammer’s account the same day” the money was deposited.
“We urge all consumers to ignore phone, text or internet requests to transfer money or access their computers or bank accounts. Banks and legitimate businesses will not make these requests, but scammers will,” Chase said in a statement to ABC 7.
Chase urged consumers to “ignore phone, text or internet requests to transfer money or access their computer or bank accounts.” (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Federal Trade Commission also has a direct warning for consumers, saying it’s a scam if anyone tells consumers to move their money to “protect” it.
“Never transfer money, cryptocurrency, or gold to someone you do not know in response to an unexpected call or message,” the FTC website reads.
Huntington Bank customer Susie Allgood also received a hoax call from someone claiming to be from Zelle.
“And in order to continue receiving money to and from Zelle, I had to upgrade my Zelle account to a business account,” Allgood told ABC 7. “Because he said he was from Zelle and worked at Huntington Bank. So why wouldn’t I believe him? He already had my routing number.”
Allgood said she was convinced to send $5,000 to the scammer’s account through Zelle to keep her money “safe.”
“I think each case has to be looked at individually because did I send the money? Yes, I did. I will admit that. But I also received instructions from someone who had the last four of my bank account and had my phone number,” Allgood said.
Both women reported their experiences to local authorities and the FBI.
In response to whether she thinks she will get her money back, Lichthardt said, “I don’t know. I hope so.’
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The FBI has described these calls as a growing problem. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
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According to ABC 7, neither victim had received a refund from her bank after being scammed and convinced to wire money.
Banks generally cover certain types of unauthorized fraud, such as when someone steals your bank card details. A bank will never call a customer and ask that person to send money.
The FBI and other experts said criminals can find banking information on the dark web or through dumpster diving. When they obtain that information, they may also be able to call the person’s bank’s automated system to view the customer’s account balance or transactions.
“When someone calls and pretends to be the FBI, the victim thinks he or she is in trouble. They are already exhausted, and when they make these decisions, the criminal begins to rush them even more. The more they are rushed, the more decisions they make at the last minute,” Robert Richardson, a special agent with the FBI Chicago Field Office, told ABC 7.
