Anyone can be a victim of a bank scam, and criminals continue to use the latest technology to pull off their scams. In these two stories, two California residents fall victim to the Zelle 'Reverse Transaction' scam.
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| Photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash |
ABC 7 News reported that in June 2022, a San Francisco man got the shock of his life when he discovered a scammer had just stolen money from him. It was so bad, he claims he suffered a panic attack from the ordeal.
California Man Becomes Victim in Zelle ‘Reverse Transaction’ Scam
Eduardo Carrascosa, from San Francisco, says he was busy at work when it happened. He received a call claiming to be a woman from ‘Bank of America.’
The woman posing as a Bank of America employee told Eduardo that scammers had hacked into his account and changed his Zelle account to send themselves money, which was indeed what had happened.
Eduardo said to her:
“No, that’s not me, go ahead and cancel it. Let me get back to my work.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)
The woman was insistent that if he didn’t reverse the charge himself, his money would be gone. So that’s what he did.
“So I started to, you know, red flags. So, I googled the number that was calling me.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)
His internet search results showed that it was a Bank of America number.
Then, a man got on the phone, claiming to be the woman’s supervisor. Carrascosa questioned the man to find out if they were really from Bank of America.
“I thought I was outsmarting them.I usually don’t make customer service reps answer all those questions but I was suspicious.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)
Yet the man answered his questions correctly, except the question about how long he had been a customer of Bank of America.
“He knew my debit card number, my checking account number, cellphone number, address.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)
Next, the man told Eduardo that a scammer had linked his cellphone number to their Zelle account, and to fix the problem, Eduardo just needed to go in and change the number back. It seemed simple enough.
“I was really suspicious and nervous. But at that point, I was already trapped…I was gonna do what they told me, you know.” -Eduardo Carrascosa, scam victim (Source: ABC 7 News)
Eduardo followed the instructions, entering his own name and cellphone number as a recipient in his own Zelle account, so he could then send the $3,500 back to himself.
Eduardo followed the directions of the scammer, first sending $2,500 to himself, and then another $1,000 to himself. The funds left his bank account.
He later learned that the scammer had changed their account name and phone number to his. He was not actually reversing a scam transaction as they explained to him. He was actually sending his money to a scammer that took his identity on their account in order to steal his money.
Eduardo Carrascosa filed a claim with Bank of America about his lost $3,500, which he needs for daily living expenses in San Francisco, but it is unlikely his money will be recovered.
(Source: ABC 7 News)
In the next story, a California woman receives a text and call pretending to be from her bank notifying her of a $3,500 Zelle transaction. It was not her bank. It was a Zelle scammer ready to steal her money, and the story is very similar to what happened to Eduardo Carrascosa.
California Woman Receives a Text from 'Wells Fargo'
KSBW 8 News reported that on 25 February 2022, Melissa Anderson received a text message from an unrecognized number claiming to be “Wells Fargo” while on vacation. She had no idea she was being scammed.
Shortly after receiving the text message, she then received a phone call, and her caller ID read “Wells Fargo.”
“They asked if I authorized that charge, I immediately responded and said no. When I was on the phone with them, I Googled the number and it said it was a financial institute in Florida and with the amount of people working remotely, internationally, I assumed they are a financial institute so they are affiliated with the bank.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)
After she performing an internet search on the number, and learning it was a financial institute in Florida, she didn’t suspect anything strange. It seemed like her bank was being proactive to keep her safe.
“I’ve never been scammed in the past, I’ve been able to catch most of the things but this one, so many things added up to be real and legit.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)
The scammer explained to Melissa that there was a fraudulent transaction of $3,500 on her account through Zelle, and the only way to reverse that “pending” transaction, was to send $3,500 back to herself in Zelle.
Melissa told KSBW 8 News she “was in panic mode and did what was asked immediately.” In reality, she was handing her money over to the scammer with this action. What is even scarier, is that she didnt give the scammer any personal information.
She only entered her name, and that was it. The scammer had what they needed to complete the transaction.
“After I did that they immediately hung up on me 20:01:20 I called Wells Fargo right away and that’s when I realized it was indeed fraud.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)
Melissa Anderson is a little disappointed with the outcome of this situation. Wells Fargo did not cover or replace her lost money.
“Money’s tight for people right now. Inflation’s up. It’s just more of a reason your bank should have your back. it’s just more important to feel like your bank has your back and you’re protected right now because there they are getting really good at it, it’s really scary.” -Melissa Anderson, scam victim (Source: KSBW 8 News)
At the date of publication, Melissa Anderson had not recovered her $3,500 she lost in the Zelle scam.
(Source: KSBW 8 News)
Tip: With Fraud Alerts, Always Call Your Bank Directly
As a reminder, if you ever get a security alert text or call from anyone claiming to be from your bank, always call the publicly listed number for your bank and confirm that what you are seeing is correct.
They will verify if a fraud charge really posted to your account. Never assume that the person contacting you is a legitimate employee of your bank.
Sources
Ariana, Jaso. “Carmel woman scammed out of thousands of dollars.” KSBW 8 News. Updated: 11 March 2022.
Finney, Michael. “Bank of America customer loses thousands after being tricked by Zelle scammers with personal info.” ABC 7 News. 28 July 2022.
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