A WELLS Fargo customer has revealed the efforts she took to protect her account, made her lose thousands of dollars.
Joan Salcido thought she received a call from her bank telling her that someone stole $266 from her account, but her efforts to correct it led to $20,000 disappearing.
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“It just seemed really smooth and rhythmic,” Salcido told NBC affiliate KPNX while describing the call with who she thought was a representative.
The scammer on the other line instructed her to wire her money to a separate account, where it would be retrieved the following day.
She explained that she had questions at first, but the person on the line was so convincing, that Salcido believed she could trust them.
“The way they walked me through it and told me exactly how you would do it. I’m thinking they’re already in my account,” the victim said.
“Of course, until I hung up the phone and thought no they weren’t in it, they were just showing me how to do it on my end.”
By following the scammer she ended up losing thousands of her own money.
Salcido is one of the many victims of imposter scams, a prevalent way for fraudsters to steal money.
These criminals often spoof the number of the dominant bank in the area and call unsuspecting people to see who they can steal from.
Wells Fargo has previously advised people to never send a payment to fix a “problem,” even if the caller claims to represent the company.
“Know that Wells Fargo employees will never ask you to send money to anyone – including yourself – to ‘reverse a transfer,’ ‘receive a refund,’ or anything similar. Remember, if a correction is needed, the bank has your account information,” the bank revealed on its website.
Now with her money gone, Salcido has had to file a claim with Wells Fargo and the police.
The process can take up to 10 business days before a claim can be resolved, according to Wells Fargo.
However, it’s up to the bank to decide whether Salcido will be reimbursed since it could be considered an authorized transaction.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Wells Fargo for comment.
Top tips on avoiding scams from a bank
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam and how to avoid them.
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify 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 by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
OTHER BANK SCAMS
Scammers have been testing out different ways to steal from bank customers.
In 2022, a man named David had $7500 stolen from him after a man pretended to be him at a Citi Bank in Chicago.
“The person went to one Citibank, tried to extract money from my account, was refused,” he told local CBS affiliate WBBM-TV.
“That was on May 12th. The person went to another Citibank, and was refused.”
However, the third bank gave the man thousands of dollars but didn’t question it until the scammer was already gone.
“They figured it was a fraud right away, but they couldn’t figure it out a minute before when it actually occurred,” he said.
David claimed that despite this not being his fault, he wasn’t getting any help to get his money back.
“I tried everything — websites…I called Citibank headquarters, I called all these people trying to find somebody, frankly, who cared,” he said.
He filed a police report but revealed he wasn’t able to get his cash back until he reached out to the station for help.
“Safeguarding our clients’ accounts is very important to us and we are pleased to have this matter resolved,” the bank wrote in an email to the organization.
The money was immediately returned to David’s account, despite any initial pushback.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Citi Bank for comment.
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