FRAUDSTERS have stolen thousands of dollars from a music teacher, but Wells Fargo blames her for the catastrophic loss.
Jolinda Crocker, 63, has become the latest victim of a bank scam after a thief stole $60,000 from her Wells Fargo bank account.
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The California native was teaching at a music school in Italy when she was alerted by her bank that fraudsters had hacked into her account and transferred her life savings to multiple recipients.
She filed a fraud report, and after a week, she was reportedly told that she transferred the money herself.
“I would never transfer such a big sum of money in my life. I run a little music school,” she told Daily Mail.
For the last two years, she has been fighting to get her money back, to no avail.
“It feels like everybody is just rolling their eyes. $60,000 is nothing to Wells Fargo but it’s my lifesaving,” Crocker said.
Judy Burr shared a similar story, claiming that she was scammed out of $23,865 after fraudsters spoofed Wells Fargo’s number.
The scammers reportedly told Burr that money had been taken from her account and they were working to stop it.
They claimed that they sent her an authorization code to her phone, and all she had to do was read it back so they could help her with the situation.
However, this reportedly gave scammers full control of her account.
“I was so embarrassed I didn’t even want to meet my friends for dinner. I felt like such an idiot,” she told the publication.
When she tried to report the incident to Wells Fargo, they reportedly claimed she authorized the transaction.
“I was a Wells Fargo customer for over 20 years yet they have refused to take any responsibility. They put me through endless loops trying to get my money back.”
A Wells Fargo spokesperson told the outlet “Fraud and scams are an industry-wide concern. Safeguarding our customers’ assets is our top priority, and we have robust security protocols and measures in place.
“As scams continue to change and evolve, we continue investing in technology and training to stay ahead of emerging threats.
“We also are actively working to raise awareness of scams through various resources, including ongoing, customer-centered education efforts.”
THE BANK FRAUD PROBLEM
Believe it or not, Wells Fargo customers are not the only people dealing with bank fraud.
Janel Nguyen and Evan Dudley were also conned after another scammer used a fake TD bank number to impersonate a customer service representative.
“They knew my name, obviously my phone number, my address, a bunch of different information that looked like it was within my banking details,” Nguyen told CTV News.
“They basically told me that there [were] fraudulent charges on my credit card and they wanted to make sure it was me.”
She proceeded to give them information, that she hoped would help stop any fraud, including reading to them an authorization code.
Once she realized that this was not a TD Bank representative, she checked her bank and realized her lifesaving was completely gone.
“In the blink of an eye – it’s all gone,” said Dudley.
She had been saving for three years for a six-month trip around the world – her lifelong dream.
TD Bank told CTV News that they use “numerous security controls” to protect clients but denied fault in this instance.
“Our security protocols and systems include technology that help us identify suspicious transactions quickly to protect our customers falling victim to financial harm,” the bank told the outlet.
“We strongly encourage your readers and our customers to stay vigilant when it comes to suspicious or unauthorized activity on their accounts.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Wells Fargo for comment.
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