A CHASE customer has become the victim of a scam after losing $30,000 to multiple unauthorized transfers.
Allan Roberts, a realtor from Oregon, checked his Chase bank account only to find a multitude of withdrawals to different companies.
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“I’m not going to stand for that,” Roberts said, according to NBC affiliate KGW.
“Sorry, but nobody’s going to steal $30,000 from me and not account for it.”
He explained how each withdrawal was less than $2,000 which he suspected was to not trigger any alerts from Chase.
Along with the $30k stolen from him, Roberts said $8,000 was also transferred and withdrawn from another one of his checking accounts to a business account.
On March 18, the same day he noticed the transactions, Roberts said he received hundreds of emails written in foreign languages.
However, the realtor said he did not click on any of the spam emails or give out his information.
‘BEYOND FRUSTRATING’
Roberts has been trying to get his money back for almost a month.
When he reached out to Chase, it denied his claim twice because the company couldn’t prove Roberts didn’t make the transactions himself.
“It blows my mind that anybody could look at that and not say, ‘Oh, clearly you were hacked and it was gone,” he told the outlet.
The bank is reviewing Robert’s claim, according to the outlet, but the Oregon man is still without thousands of dollars he had saved for retirement.
“Call it a nest egg, call it whatever you will to a future retirement,” he said.
“And for it to just be gone on one day, out of nowhere, to who knows where, it’s beyond frustrating. It’s frustrating beyond belief.”
Roberts has also filed a police report and contacted the FBI and the Governor of Oregon’s office.
He told the outlet the governor’s office has filed a complaint with the Treasury Department on Robert’s behalf.
MADDENING
Another Chase customer was scammed, losing $19,000, after a phone call with a person impersonating a bank employee.
Thomas, who didn’t share his last name, received an email telling him he signed up for a new platinum credit card with a $499 annual fee, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
He knew this wasn’t true, so he called the number in the email for assistance.
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:
- 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
Thomas spoke to who he thought was a Chase representative and while on the phone, he logged into his bank account and the scammer was able to get remote access to his computer, he told the outlet.
The scammer told Thomas he was going to remove the $499 credit, but instead, he accidentally deposited $20,000.
Thomas was able to see the deposit in real-time.
The caller began to panic and told Thomas he had to remove the payment or he would be fired.
It took hours to solve the issue and when it was over, the $20,000 overpayment was gone, but so was $19,450 of Thomas’ own money.
He fled to the bank but they were unable to stop the transaction which confused Thomas.
“It’s maddening,” he said.
The Chase customer filed reports with the FBI, the Chicago Police Department, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The U.S. Sun has contacted Chase Bank for comment.
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