Bank Scam Leaves Local Woman Defrauded

PRAIRIEVILLE – A sophisticated bank scam involving Chase Bank and Zelle has garnered attention over the past few years, and it recently led to a substantial loss for a woman living in Ascension Parish, totaling $1,900.

Tara Warrior found herself deceived by someone pretending to assist her in halting fraudulent transactions, when, in reality, they were the ones siphoning off her funds. This all kicked off with a text message.

The text came from a five-digit number that claimed to be affiliated with Chase Bank. It read: “CHASE BANK NA: Have you attempted to make a (ZELLE) payment for ($2,000)? If this is you, please reply (YES). If not, please reply (NO) and we will call you shortly. Thank you.”

At work when she received the message, Warrior responded with “no” and hit send.

“Just a few seconds later, my phone rang, and it was Chase Bank,” she recalled.

At least, that’s what she thought. The caller ID showed an 877 number, and what ensued seemed reasonable at first.

“He asked me to check my account, and I did,” Warrior recounted.

During their conversation, she noted that the caller spoke in a calm, clear, and professional manner. Introducing himself as Charles Jennings, he guided her to set up a Zelle account through the Chase Bank app to combat the supposed fraudulent activities. Jennings instructed her to enter a 10-digit number to file a claim, assuring her she would get her money back.

“He was added to my Zelle account,” she explained.

This back-and-forth lasted around 15 minutes.

“He wanted to make sure I wasn’t locked out of the online banking system, and that’s when I started to have doubts,” she said.

While waiting on hold, she decided to look up the official Chase Bank number. Packing up her belongings, she reached out to Chase, reported the scam, and requested them to halt all transactions.

During her call with Chase, Jennings abruptly hung up. Warrior spent an hour on the phone with the bank, who assured her that any fraudulent charges would be refunded to her account within ten business days. However, later that same night, she discovered that the payment had gone through.

Warrior then filed two fraud claims against Chase Bank, both of which were denied.

“Even after I flagged the scam during the incident and reported everything immediately, they still ignored me. That’s what really frustrated me,” she shared.

If she had called the number she received after the text, she would have reached the actual Chase Bank. Warrior felt quite uneasy about how easily she was misled.

“I mean, you really can’t be sure nowadays,” she remarked.

Her $1,900.50 is now gone, along with her trust in the system. She questions the adherence to Chase Bank’s deposit account agreement in her situation, but Chase was not available for comment.

This agreement states that if there is suspicion of fraud or financial exploitation, Chase Bank can block or delay a transaction, even with customer approval. Ms. Warrior believes this protocol wasn’t followed in her case.

Chase Bank stated that while they may send messages to confirm the legitimacy of transactions, their standard practice is to encourage customers to call using the number on the back of their debit or credit card. They advise customers against responding to calls, messages, or online requests for money or access to their accounts. To mitigate fraud, banks should never initiate contact asking for money transfers. If you receive a suspicious call from someone claiming to be your bank, it’s best to hang up and use the number on your card. You can also report incidents to the FTC here.