California Woman Wires Her $720K Life Savings to a Scammer. She is Now Suing Chase Bank

An 80-year-old woman is suing Chase Bank after she fell for a crypto investment scam known as "pig butchering" that took over $720,000 of her life savings, and left her "struggling to pay her bills."

Chase bank (stock photo)Photo byMike Mozart; CC BY 2.0 DEED

A Taiwanese immigrant and senior citizen with a disabled adult son had no idea she was being scammed, but this is how many "pig butchering" scams go.

A scammer gains the trust of an unsuspecting person and convinces them to send money or invest money in a scheme, and it ends with the victim losing all of their money.

This is what happened to one California woman who is now desperately suing Chase bank after losing over $720K to a scammer.

Los Angeles Woman Trusts Scammer and Loses Life Savings

KCAL-TV News reported that 80-year-old Alice Lin in Los Angeles thought that a man she met on WeChat would help her make money with cryptocurrency investing in a trading app. She didn't know the man and met him when he messaged her for the first time.

He gained her trust through an online friendship that started on WeChat.

He then convinced her to download a "trading app" and he convinced her to send her money, but she didn't realize it was not a real investing app.

She said:

“Then I was thinking, I can help my son, who is on disability. So, I thought, that would be good. That I can, you know, make a little bit of money.” -Alice Lin, Chase bank customer

Alice Lin, 80Photo byKCAL-TV News

Then over several weeks, he convinced her to wire over $720,000 to him. She went to her local Chase bank branches to wire "hundreds of thousands of dollars" over several days in August, and the total amount came to $721,500.

After he received the money, all communication from the scammer stopped.

It was a scam, and the returns on her money were too good to be true.

She said:

“He gave me the instructions and where to send the money to. So for me to go to the bank, to wire the money, and at that time, I totally trust him, so I just follow him.” -Alice Lin, Chase bank customer

CBS 4 News Miami reported that Lin was extremely depressed after she lost $720K, to the point that she felt suicidal.

With very little left in her bank account, she is now "trying to find comfort in the simple things in life," because the pig butchering scam stole her life savings.

Alice Lin is Suing Chase Bank After Losing $720K in Scam

Now, she holds Chase Bank at fault for allowing her to send her money to a scammer.

"Only if they had done a little something to protect elders like me from being scammed, I wouldn't be where I am now an 80-year-old widow left to pick up the pieces of my life." -Alice Lin, Chase bank customer

On Monday, 26 February 2024 Lin's attorney Anne Marie Murphy filed a complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing "red flags that Chase bank knew Ms. Lin was being scammed or definitely should have known."

Sources

Lopez, Lolita. "Grandmother loses life savings and sues bank." NBC 4 News. Updated 26 February 2024.

Sabir, Nadirah. "Woman, 80, loses $720,000 in savings due to crypto scam 'at my age, I do not have a second chance'." CBS 4 Miami. 6 March 2024.

Scammer Leaves Her Fake ID at North Carolina Bank After Trying to Steal $4,000 from Bank Account

A woman in North Carolina went into a bank in Roanoke Rapids with a fake ID that had her real photo as the picture. The fraudster got nervous and quickly left while the bank teller was checking on the account she was trying to withdraw funds from.

credit: Roanoke Rapids Police Department

Some scammers never learn. 

NC Police Department is Looking for a Bank Scammer

Roanoke Rapids Police Department is actively looking for the woman seen in the photo above after she left a fake ID at a bank in Roanoke Rapids, NC.

She walked into the bank around noon on Feb. 7 at a location on East 10th Street in Roanoke Rapids.

She attempted to withdraw $4,000 from a bank account that was not hers.

The bank teller became suspicious and had another teller contact the real account owner. The account owner said that "no one should be removing funds from their account."

As the teller was checking on the bank account, the woman quickly left the bank branch, leaving her fake ID behind. Bank employees said that the picture on the Identification card was accurate, while the other information was not. 

If you have information on this woman, please contact Halifax County Crime Stoppers at 252-583-4444.

Maryland Woman Loses $17K from her Bank of America Account After a Crook Goes into a Verizon Store w/ Her Phone Number & Gets a SIM Card

A Maryland woman was scammed out of $17,000 in her Bank of America bank account after a scammer walked into a California Verizon store with her phone number and obtained a SIM card for her account, shutting off her phone. Then the scammer steals $17K from her Bank of America bank account.

Verizon Wireless store

Scammers continue to find new ways to steal money from hard-working people, even when a person has two-factor authentication on an account.

A Maryland woman learns that even with two-factor authentication, a criminal still accessed her account and took $17K from her with a SIM card swap.

Details on what happened are below.

A Scammer Walks into a Verizon Store with a Woman's Phone Number

7News reported on Wednesday that Sharon Hussey from Maryland was "stunned" after a criminal took control of her account after walking into a California Verizon store with her phone number.

The crook then changed her Bank of America contact information "within minutes" and then took $17,000 from her bank account, even though she had two-factor authentication enabled.

She said:

"I don't know what kind of story they told them, but they bought a new phone, gave them my phone number and were issued a new SIM card, and with that SIM card they can take over everything. I don't know if the could access my banking apps. I don't know what immediate access they had...they could change my Verizon account information, they changed my password, they changed another phone number that was on there, and then they went into Bank of America, and now that they have this phone with my control, they were able to make a sizable withdrawal and when they were sent a code to the phone, they had it." -Sharon Hussey, Verizon customer

 She said:

"It was absolutely stunning. My heart dropped to the floor...and the bottom just kind of dropped out." -Sharon Hussey, Verizon customer

When a new SIM card was issued in California, the SIM card in her cellphone no longer worked, and should could no longer get a verification code to her phone, because the scammer was now using her phone number.

She needed to contact Verizon about her phone issues, but when she called Bank of America, she found out that $17,000 had been removed from her account.

She said:

"Initially, I didn't realize how big of a deal it was. I thought I had handled it on the first day by calling the bank, calling Verizon. Figuring things out.” -Sharon Hussey, Verizon customer

Hussey says that the "two-factor authentication" in her particular situation didn't help her.

She said:

"And I have two-factor identification which ended up biting me in the face when it all came down to it. That was the thing that completely hijacked everything. They had complete control of my phone and there was nothing I could do about it." -Sharon Hussey, Verizon customer

7News revealed that the scammer in this situation used two-factor authentication via receiving a text code to access accounts that have this feature enabled.

That's how the scammer gained access to Sharon Hussey's bank account.

In the video below on X.com (formerly Twitter) Sharon explains what happened.

Update to this Story: 24 January 2024

7News reported that Bank of America initially denied her claim for her $17K loss "over the next three months," but did reverse its decision, and decided to refund the money that was stolen from Sharon Hussey's account.

Thoughts

Now it is time for the reader to share your thoughts on the story.

• Did you know this type of SIM scam existed?
• What would you do if someone stole your phone number?
• Do you use two-factor authentication to protect your accounts?

Please help others stay informed about this story by sharing this article on social media.

Sources

Scott Taylor's account on X.com (formerly Twitter): @ScottTaylorTV

Sharon Hussey on Facebook.

Taylor, Scott. "Maryland woman loses $17K in SIM card swap scam despite two-factor authentication." WJLA 7News. 24 January 2024.

Bank of America's website.

Verizon's website.

Colorado Man Loses Almost $140K to Scammer Posing as Chase Fraud Department

A Jefferson County man was living in a "nightmare" after a scammer posing as Chase Bank's Fraud Department sent a "Chase Fraud Alert" to his phone. After giving the scammer access to his account, 11 wire transfers initiated by the scammer stole almost $140K out of his Chase Business account.

Chase Bank branch

What happens when the bank isn't prepared to help you resolve a fraud alert quickly, and a scammer posing as the fraud department is "more than eager" to help?

It's a situation happening far too often after a man in Colorado learned the hard way to be more cautious after losing almost $140K in a fraud scheme that all started with a text message.

An FBI report on fraud in 2022 found that 405 Colorado residents lost almost $500k to phishing scams, while 467 residents lost over $2 million to spoofing scams in the state.

More details are below.

Colorado Man Tricked by Scammer's Text Message Spoofing a 'Chase Fraud Alert'

FOX31 News reported on Friday that Scott Koll from Golden, Colorado received a Chase Fraud Alert text to his phone in January, which started a nightmare situation for him and his wife.

Scott is seen in the photo below along with the Chase Alert he received.

Scott Zoll and Fraud text alert; credit: FOX31 News

The Chase fraud alert read: “Chase Alerts: Did you attempt to send a Wire transfer for the amount of $4,500.00? Reply Y or N. STOP to end."

Scott contacted his business partners to see if they knew anything about it.

He said:

“At that point, before I did anything else, I reached out to my business partners and asked if they had initiated a wire. They had not. So I then called the bank branch to see if they could see any activity on my account." -Scott Koll, Chase customer

Next, Scott called his local bank branch in Golden, which gave him the number for Chase's fraud department.

While communicating with his bank, he also replied to the "fraud alert" text.

He said:

“At that point, I acknowledged the text that came through, said, ‘No, we did not initiate this wire,’ [&] got a text back immediately saying somebody from the Chase fraud team will be in contact with you.” -Scott Koll, Chase customer

Scott didn't know that his text replied to a scammer waiting for his response.

Chase's legitimate fraud department number was being "spoofed" by the scammer, which also fooled Scott into thinking it was his real bank.

He said:

"Probably within 30 seconds, I received a phone call from the exact number that the branch had just given me." -Scott Koll, Chase customer

He was on the phone with a scammer and the call dropped. So he called the real Chase Bank fraud number. His real bank could not see the texts or communications that he had with the scammer, and Scott began to get frustrated with his real bank.

That's when the scammers posing as his bank called back. Since they seemed to know what they were doing, he continued on his call with them. They knew how much money was in his account and could tell him his bank account number.

The Scammer Asked Him for a 'One-Time Passcode'

Scott was working with who he thought was a member of the fraud team to look into a fraudulent wire that was posted to his account.

The scammer told him they would need Scott to reveal a one-time passcode that would be texted to his cell phone to authenticate his identity. Scott complied with this request, which then gave him the access needed to initiate 11 outgoing wire transfers out of his business account totaling $137,130.

Never give anyone a PIN or "one-time passcode" from your bank. Real employees of the bank do not ask for this and would get in trouble if they did ask for it. Only scammers ask for this type of information.

Chase Bank released a statement to FOX31 News.

It read:

"These types of scams are heartbreaking. Beware of new contacts asking you for codes, access to your device, or to send them, yourself, or anyone else money to prevent fraud. Chase, other banks, law enforcement, and technology companies won’t ask you to do this, but scammers will. Like cash, wires are final payments and are rarely successfully recalled, once sent." -Chase Bank

An Update to the Scott Koll Case

The U.S. Sun reported that Scott Koll was notified by Chase Bank on 31 January 2024 that a "significant amount" of their missing funds are expected to be returned after investigating his case over several weeks in January.

Their investigation also uncovered that Scott Koll's computer was infected with malware and "was hacked more than one year before the fraud took place."

Thoughts

Now it is time for the reader to share your thoughts on this story.

• Do you know anyone who has been the victim of bank fraud?
• Have you ever had fraudulent charges posted to your debit or credit card?
• Have you had to contact a fraud department to dispute fraud charges?

Please share this article with friends and family so they can be informed about this story.

Sources

Chase Bank's website.

FBI Report: "Federal Bureau of Investigation Internet Crime Report 2022." Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Date accessed: 2 February 2024.

Low, Rob. "Phishing scam dupes Jefferson County couple out of $137K." FOX31 News. 1 February 2024.

White, Debbie. "DON'T BANK ON IT. ‘Never trust an incoming call,’ Chase customers are warned after couple loses $137k – it looked like an official number." The U.S. Sun. 2 February 2024.

$6,800 Taken from California Woman's Wells Fargo Bank Account Days After Receiving Fraudulent Phone Call

 In August 2023, Nadwa Perket received a phone call claiming to be from Wells Fargo. Days later, $6,800 was taken from her bank account and sent to Florida.

Wells Fargo bank (stock photo) by Mike Mozart; CC BY 2.0 DEED

A woman in her 60s from San Diego lost $6,800 from her Wells Fargo bank account after being tricked by a scammer who pretended to be a Wells Fargo bank employee. Nadwa Perket said she felt betrayed by the bank, which refused to reimburse her money.

California Woman Receives Scam Call and Loses Money from Bank Account

The U.S. Sun reported that Nadwa Perket from San Diego received a phone call in August 2023 from a man who claimed to be from the Wells Fargo fraud team. He told her that someone had tried to wire money to an account in Florida and that he needed to add extra security layers to her bank account.

Perket said the caller sounded very professional and convincing. She did not give him her password or username, but she did provide him with some personal information and a one-time access code that he requested.

A few days later, she got a notification on her phone that her account balance was low. She checked her account and found out that $6,800 had been withdrawn from her account.

Perket contacted Wells Fargo and reported the fraud, but the bank told her that "she had authorized the transaction" and that they would not refund her money. She said she was "shocked and angry that the bank did not protect her as a client."

She said:

"It didn't look fishy to them." -Nadwa Perket

She said she then had to borrow money just to pay her rent and that she felt like the bank did not care about her. 

Questions for the Readers

Now it is time for the reader to share your thoughts in the comments.

• Do you think that commercial banks care about their customers?
• Do you think they will take care of customers that are victims of fraud?
• Have you ever seen fraudulent charges on your debit or credit card?

Chase Bank Won't Accept $5K Check Mobile Deposited by Georgia Woman. They Close Her Account, Claiming it is Fraud

A Georgia woman is upset after she claims she is being unfairly treated like a "criminal" after trying to mobile deposit a U.S. government refund check for $5,298 into her Chase bank account. The bank flagged the check for fraud and froze her bank account, eventually closing it.

Chase bank sign; by Mike Mozart, CC BY 2.0 DEED

Channel 2 News reported that Lois White from Atlanta is in shock after trying to deposit a check using mobile deposit into her Chase bank account.

She said:

"I feel like a criminal, like I've done something wrong... Apparently, they couldn't verify this check was real." -Lois White, Chase customer

US Government Forgave Lois White's Student Debt

Lois White received a letter in the mail from the U.S. Government forgiving her student debt.

The letter said, "Congratulations -- your student loan has been forgiven."

White was grateful that her debt was forgiven but had no idea that Chase Bank would flag the check as fraud.

Channel 2 News reported that Chase put a "fraud hold" on the check, and closed Lois White's bank account. The bank would not allow her access to her money.

Lois went down to the bank and took her letter. 

She said:

"I went to the branch. I gave them this letter. I gave them this check, gave them my ID, my birth certificate, [my] social security card." -Lois White, Chase customer

 Then Channel 2 News contacted Chase Bank. That's when the bank said they were "researching her case."

As of 8 December 2023, Chase Bank was still holding White's money.

She said:

"I'm devastated because I've always been able to pay my bills on time and handle my business. But I'm like couch surfing now." -Lois White, Chase customer