Authorities are cautioning the public about fraudulent calls that might lead to severe financial losses.
The FBI has reported an uptick in scams where fraudsters impersonate bank representatives and law enforcement to access people’s finances.
“These impersonation and phishing schemes aim to manipulate victims into revealing sensitive information like passwords or PIN numbers. Any suspected cyber fraud should be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center,” the information noted.
Jennifer Lichthard, a Chase customer, recounted to ABC7 how she fell victim to a phone scam and lost $40,000.
“The first call I received showed the number on my Chase debit card—it was supposedly from Chase’s fraud department,” Lichthardt mentioned.
The scammers posed as representatives from her bank and even claimed to be FBI agents.
“They had my account number and my exact balance,” Lichthardt said. “They even provided a fake FBI agent number.”
Eventually, they persuaded her to transfer $40,000 from her Chase account to a supposed “safe” account at a local branch, plus additional funds to another online bank. Afterward, she realized she’d run out of money and reported the fraud the next day.
“We’re urging consumers to disregard any requests via phone, text, or online to send money or give access to their bank accounts. Genuine banks don’t make those kinds of requests, but scammers definitely do,” Chase noted in a statement to ABC 7.
Susie Allgood shared her experience, stating she was convinced by a scammer to send $5,000 through Zelle to “secure her money.”
“Looking back, I realize, yes, I sent money. I own that. But this person had the last four digits of my bank account and my phone number,” Allgood explained.
“He said to keep using Zelle, I needed to upgrade to a business account since he claimed to work at Huntington Bank. I believed him, especially since he had my routing number,” she added.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that any request to move money for “safekeeping” is a scam.
“Do not transfer or send money, cryptocurrencies, or gold to someone you don’t know after an unexpected call or message,” the FTC advises.
At the time of the report, neither Lichthard nor Allgood had received any refunds from their banks. While banks may cover some fraudulent activities, they typically do not contact customers asking for money transfers.
The FBI highlighted that scammers often search through dumpsters and utilize the dark web to gather personal banking information to exploit individuals.
“When a caller poses as an FBI agent, it can intimidate the victim into thinking they’re in trouble. This causes stress and hasty decision-making, giving the criminal an advantage,” said Robert Richardson, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Chicago office.
