Scammer swipes $1M from metro Atlanta business owner by posing as her bank
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 เม.ย. 2024
- Stephanie Kelley said she and her husband fell victim to a scheme so sophisticated, they did not see any red flags until their account was wiped clean.
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First Red Flag: The bank doesn’t call you, you call them.
My bank has called me, so inaccurate
Wrong. My bank calls me everytime I am trying to make a transaction over 1000$. And that's in Moldova. It bothers me a bit, but it's actually good from their side.
Let’s think about before online banking all you needed to even speak to someone about your account now you just answering the phone did you ask them verification questions 🤪🤪
The bank can call you
@@everlastbella8229 Okay, well if “the bank calls”, hang up on go to the website (if you don’t already have the number saved) and call the bank because incoming call could possibly be a scam call.
Always call the number on the back of the card or go to the bank in person. If they’re calling, you don’t answer the call. Just go to the bank.
That's what I did. I saw my bank calling me with the name listed. I said to myself if this is real they will leave a message. No message was left.
@@ontheroad5555 right, always call the bank this almost happened to me as well. Not a million but a few hundred dollars. I hung right up and called the bank almost breaking my fingers😢
@@MyFunSizeBudget lol good to know your fingers are not broken.
@@ontheroad5555 lol, those texts are scary when you think you're being scammed😆
Yep, always good to do things the old fashioned way.
There is immense pain in losing a large amount of money but to garner courage to speak about it says a lot about the person’s great character.
Got scammed this past week out of 2.25 Bitcoin.
My husband and I was scammed twice last year, totaling losses over $550k. It was a lengthy process involving federal intervention to get our money back. We need more people like Retrievebackteam taking a stand against these criminals. Much love and support from California.
@@jaidenSalinas I got scammed out of my retirement money but I was new to it. thanks for sharing will definitely get in touch with them
I got scammed out of my retirement money but I was new to it. thanks for sharing will definitely get in touch with them
Sorry about that, just don't understand how so many human beings can be so heartless to people like that
The scammer had to have worked at a bank, or had learned the system from a bank employee.
The bank employees are definitely involved
Right because how did they know she had a bank account at Regions
@@joshlidowdie24definitely
@@maxinef6654 welp my att email was hacked a month ago and with an email you gain so much information, they could also have malware/spyware on their computers/phone.
My guess is they made the first fraudulent transaction then called her
10 wire transfer's draining their account in just one hour and their bank didn't think that was suspicious? The bank is criminally negligent for not flagging the account for such unusual activity.
the baseball interpetor stole the plyers acct and called and transfered 500k 12 times or so anything wrong he was betting and sent back to his account
never give your pin out to anyone!!! banks could care less about your money being stolen
Ya, when you try to move even 10k they immediate call the FBI and investigate ya. lol
it depends on how many wires the company makes.
If they call you and it involves money, IT IS A SCAM. I haven't answered the phone in years. If they say they are with the bank, tell them, "Say no more, I'm coming down there and we shall discuss this in person."
I have to answer my phone. Just don't do what they want you to do!
I dont understand why the bank won’t freeze the account with significant transactions or better yet just will go to the bank myself and watch how fast the criminal disappear . We have got to be smarter than this and protect our money . I was scammed twice one for a puppy and the other $500
I said never never ever again.
Do applied them for speaking out unfortunately there will be another victim . Let’s keep spreading awareness .
@@ericasmith5054
Oh you fell for the Puppy Scam? I almost did too. But when I said I wanted to go and see them for myself they said no, so I knew it was a Scam. Never give money upfront!
How does a bank allow 12 transfers in 1 hour without the system flagging the account?
This is business account, it's different from personal acc. 12 transactions in 1 hr is normal.
The takeaway, never answer bank's call, call the bank yourself.
That's not the bank, it's the criminal
A reason to have an account at more than one bank.
Yep. Just opened a 2nd one a week ago. Thieves everywhere. From Wall Street brokers down to the bum on the corner.
Right, my paychecks go to Wells Fargo then I immediately move most to a high yield savings that I don't touch.. i pay all of my bills and only leave about $200 in there.. I don't trust Wells Fargo either so i don't leave my money with them after all the fraud from inside of their bank
@@d.lawrence5670make sure that the cards that you use for transactions is different from the one that receives (wages,business) money. After that business/work account has been credited, move the money into another account. Move an estimated amount to your transaction account, just before any purchase, move the remainder back. Three accounts (minimum)
I have 15
@@RazorRamonElJefe Ha, ha. You are rich and sharp as a Razor!
I feel very sorry for that family! I’ve been telling my family over and over, if you ever get a call from your bank even if the banks name is being displayed, disconnect that call and you can call them back to see what is going on!
Including the exact # of said bank
It’s very easy for a scammer to fake caller ID. The phone system doesn’t have any security to prevent it.
You can answer the call, but don't agree to anything.
This lady is the reason we all get flooded with scam calls.
They know one day they'll catch a big fish stupid enough to go along with it.
right
They did this to a friend of mine while he was battling cancer and he died a month later!!
Took all of his money while he was dying.
That's sad! 😞
Insane world we live in.
That person is going straight to hell in gasoline drawers!
KARMA WILL COME for WHOEVER DID THIS. 👿💰💔
RIP. your friend. ❤🌠
They hacked me but only got $40 which I got back. I watch my accounts like a Hawk and my enails phones report EVERY transaction. If a dollar comes out I'll know about it. I know that loser is mad he didn't get to wipe me.
They need to seriously do something about these scammers! This is ridiculous!
The banks should stop transferring so much money in a short space of time.
At least the recipient bank should return the funds to her bank. Why did they even allow cashing out that high of an mount without further scrutiny?!
@@BillAnt unless the bank is on the take. Check out what happened to $81 billion from the New York Federal Reserve that was owned by the government of Bangladesh. Most of the money ended up in the Philippines in one bank never to be recovered. According to the bank manager, who was later fired, she said higher up bank officials instructed her to open the accounts in the names of people who turned out to be fictitious who withdrew close to $81 billion from one bank in the Philippines.
"Under Philippine banking laws, the stolen funds could not be frozen until a criminal case was lodged, even though they were still in the banking system. And over the next few days, most of the $81 million disappeared into the country’s casino industry, which is exempted from anti-money laundering laws. Though $18 million was recovered, otherwise the trail went cold.
At the Senate hearing, bank officials pinned the blame for the disappearance of the money on the manager of the Jupiter Street branch, accusing her of allowing accounts to be opened under false names. The manager, who was sacked in March, said she had acted on instructions from senior officials and was being made a scapegoat. RCBC and the branch manager declined to comment.
Last month, in an annual report given to shareholders, RCBC said it had begun instituting"
www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/cyber-heist-federal/
Don't call me, I'll call you.
Sugarloaf "Don't Call us We'll Call you"
There's a special hell for people who so easily destroy people's lives.
These are inside jobs. They need to stop allowing wire transfers unless the customer come into the bank and request it .
Yes!! Or they need to at least limit the amount you can do remotely. They need to set the limit at some amount that is not insanely high too, I think $2000 would be good. The majority of people would be in big trouble if they lost $2000.
I say that because it's flagged when you deposit $10,000 or more, and setting a similar amount being the limit would be next to useless, seeing how little most people have saved. This type of thing happens too often and there's too many people who can't be trusted to not fall to scammers
NOt sure about your bank, but online transfers can be set up easily online. All they've got to do is capture the dtmf tone she entered on the phone (requested by the scammer) and they are setting it up on their PC.
And yeah, I agree. You should have to sign up in person but everything is online these days.
Who has time to go to the bank for every wire transfer in today’s busy world. Ain’t no way…people just need to be vigilant. I like to hear these stories, it make be stay on my toes
It's not an inside job u dum dum the scammers normally send u a link in text message and it take u to the scammers website that looks like a certain bank website and on that site the victims enter there bank ID and password and from there the scammer has your bank login that's how they do it u dum dum 🤣🤣🤣
Naaahhhh. Just need to have access to some of her accounts. In this case, her debit/credit card was probably stolen from a skimmer or something. When the charge gets done, they call you knowing you'd provide the info needed to reset your online password as well as verification codes. Hence why the wires were done online. (I've worked in banking all my life, so I know how most of these scams work and how easily avoidable they are.)
My bank has never called me, even when a fraud I had experienced.
Never give code numbers never
Hang up, call the bank, wow
Whenever my credit union calls would call from the credit card company they just ask to confirm suspicious charges they never ask me for a code.
They didn't call my mother when someone tried her account for $600 using Apple Pay. They did notify her by email because that was her preferred method of communication, however, she missed it. She found out when she tried to use her card at the grocery store and her card declined because they had closed her card. That's why they were notifying her, so she could confirm that the Apple Pay transaction they already stopped, was fraud or not.
She said this was 2022 these are scams from India
The bank already has your personal information.
My bank has never called me
No, no, Always physically walk into the bank and verify who you are speaking with
I alway tell ppl to watch the news because of this!
This is why you don't answer calls you don't know. How simple. You call the bank yourself. Lord this has been said 100000 times. You don't have to be educated. Omg!
Clearly you do have to be educated on this 😂😂😂😂
Not everyone hangs out on YT videos or TV to know about spoofing the numbers of businesses. People are busy, like this woman, trying to run a business and take care of a family. Give people a break. It was an expensive lesson for her, and for many like her. We don't know what we don't know.
There has to be a connection to the bank security system. The scammers and the banks security system has an infinity type connection. How are they able to communicate together?
😲🙄🙄🙄
She dropped the ball big time.
@teenahweenah2608
Absolutely not. Classic scam from India
I’m broke so I’m safe
I hope they steal a big chunk of my debts... Please scam meeeeee
@user-wt5bf4rw7e unfortunately, scammers don't scam for debt. Seems counter-productive
@@user-wt5bf4rw7elmao I don’t even get scam calls 😂
real
I wish someone could wipe my debts. Please.
Sounds very much like an inside job. An employee or former employee must be involved in this scam. It is the bank's fault to allow 1 million dollar to leave the account without further authorization.
You never have more than 25 grand and isolate all accounts that have "kash".
Prolly got authorization from the scammer after they had changed contact info
No shit. You or I couldn't move a fraction of that amount without a major hassle.
Naaahhhh, no need. Just need to have access to some of her accounts. In this case, her debit/credit card was probably stolen from a skimmer or something. When the charge gets done, they call you knowing you'd provide the info needed to reset your online password as well as verification codes. Hence why the wires were done online. (I've worked in banking all my life, so I know how most of these scams work and how easily avoidable they are.)
My bank has a daily limit for transfers. I never answer calls either
usps workers stole mail in rhode island facility and a suvsr also gave up everthing no chance of getting away w it this is harder to track down
They always say your bank will never call you. my bank will just shut down my card if they don't recognize where I am shopping. Always via text
Once again: your bank or the government or your mortgage company, etc. will not call you, text you or otherwise try to contact you by electronic means asking for personal/confidential information. The sooner people get this primary rule into their heads, the better.
The money had to be transferred to another bank/financial institution under a name. Why is this so hard to investigate? Sometimes I think law enforcement participate in these scams and employees at the bank too. I successfully uncovered a scammer by their name and location. Why is thar so hard for law enforcement to accomplish?
It's very easy to hide money
Maybe it's not hard for law enforcement, but because of the # of incidents, it would be too time consuming to investigate every single one.
I had same thought, You said it better,
Excuse me? But they got 600k of their money back thanks to LE so idk what you're talking about 🤷♀️
It is kind of crazy to move that amount of money without having to go to the actual bank .
i tink its been done on aapp
These people are not smart. Your bank will never call you. Never tell you to enter a code or ask for your otp. Don’t do online banking or have a card if you’re not smart. Too many of these scam stories are the owners giving their info to the scammers. Tired of it.
Im second-guessing every at this point.
I hate how you never hear about anyone getting caught. I know they could be doing this from out of the country, from anywhere in the world, but man. I hear about people getting scammed but not once have i seen news saying a scamming operation got caught and sent to jail
How can you get back 600k but still have 300k missing?
Because 600k was probably converted to crypto currency, and thanks to the FTC there is regulations like anyone who opens an account has to submit all their information and can't be anonymous so there is a paper trail showing where the money went and who it went too. In that case, LE can trace and seize the money in those accounts and anything purchased with the money and give it back to the victim.
Unfortunately modern scammers are also very technologically advanced, too.
There appears to be an inside connection to the bank's security system.
Exactly! Either an inside job or the bank is selling customers info overseas. Otherwise, how did the scammer know that specific lady was banking with that specific bank?
A lot of these ppl get jobs at banks and learn the system.
@@EconomicWarfare Scary to think that that is true. Who can one trust anymore?
I just had someone pull $400 out of one of my accounts at an ATM in a CVS with cameras everwhere. Apparently, my debit card was "cloned". So nice...
there's a difference between a scam and inside job
HELL TO THE NAW....1ST RED FLAG IS "BANKS DO NOT CALL YOU UNLESS YOU CALL THEM FIRST" IN MY EXPERIENCE and the bank tells u DONT GIVE CODE TO ANYBODY EVER! READ YOUR AGREEMENT INSTEAD OF JUST SELECTING AGREE!
Guess what in the old days before cell phones banks did call to verify.
Perfect example of why you NEVER give someone a password or PIN that you received
I can't even take over 250$ from the ATM at one time. How can any, any financial institution allow a customers total funds to be removed in a single day? When I transfer $ from NFCU to CUGA, I can only transfer $2,500 per day! And I'm ok with that!
Well, that's one bank that will never have my $. So sorry to hear about anyone losing money in this way. Imagine the stress, guilt & shame associated with losing that money? Sad for the entire family and family business.
Business accounts are different from personal accounts. Business accounts have higher limits.
Basic wire transfers operate by different rules. I do a lot of wire transfers with my financial advisor obviously you don’t. Zelle is a free wire transfer service. It used to cost money to do wire transfer now it is free but a source of scams. I remember when it was difficult to do wire transfers the bank was really careful now that’s out the window. And I think in the good old days banks did call people to confirm transactions that were large before cell phones were in use. I’m about to transfer $ to buy more stocks and use my margin to buy now and pay later for stocks or wire transfer. They are great for people who have money and know how to make more money with it. Criminality has changed the game for gullible guys! Banks don’t call anyone ever.
Caller id can be spoofed,why?
Wire transfer from one bank to another, who's account did it go into,who took it out of that account,,and nobody can figure it out?
If I didn't initiate the contact, I'm goin' to my bank in person and / or call the number on the back of card BEFORE I give anyone anything.
That part 💯💯💯
Your biggest mistake... was adding the contact number as "Regions Bank"
They're a business owner tho so they need to have the bank on speed dial.. goods need to be bought,workers paid, customer's payments tallied and rechecked, etc. That's not usual or wrong when a person runs a business
Stop answering your phone, boomers!!
“It infuriates me that we live in a place w advanced technology”… exactly. THATS the problem. As technology advances, these scams gets more and more sophisticated.
We can’t go back to the cave, gotta keep progressing
It's a basic rule, that if someone reaches out to you saying it's your bank you hang up. If you're still nervous, then you call the bank yourself, or find a branch and only then can you start asking if something is wrong
But yes, I really feel for all the senior citizens and other vulnerable people who get taken advantage of. They're in a terribly weak position
they're getting better and better. before dad passed, he almost got sucked into an absurd story. and it was always HIS money. Mom in the backgroudn: this doesn't SOUND right. He finally clicked.
I’d like to see actual arrests even if they are overseas.
Why do we keep talking about how heartless the scammers are? We should be talking about how the banks and payment systems make it so easy for your money to be stolen from anywhere in the world ? The bank and the system are to blame. And we are left holding the bag. The bank and online transactions are the problem.
It’s hard to believe people keep falling for these type of scams. I get emails everyday with bogus claim about my account being use to make purchases. However I don’t have such an account that they’re referring to. With all the information on social media I can’t see anyone can still be falling victim to these same old scams with a new twist.
How did they know where banked?
Because it's an inside job lol
They might have seen her email or bought the information on the web.
Husband
They sell online profiles on the dark web.
Scammers from India
I set text alerts for every transaction of 100 dollars or more. I have 100% texts as well as standard emails for all Amazon transactions. May not be foolproof but adds a layer of being my own watchdog.
Get alerts on your account
Thank you for sharing
How sad. Thank you for having the courage to come forward and share your experience with all of us. I pray that all of the money is returned to you.
Get rid of debit cards tied to business bank accounts...use credit cards only
Yes, never use debit cards; they are not protected. Don't use them for anything.
@@virginiamoss7045incorrect, I work at a credit union and Cuna always covered my fraud cases ( only one up to this point but my 10,000 dollars was recovered )
@@virginiamoss7045yes with debit card.
Easy way to get into debt.
@@justrandomthings319 nah just make more money bro didn’t you know money grows on Biden trees? Just plant one in the ground and watch Biden work it’s magic 😂
Put your money in No card No access accounts and use multiple accounts
MM-IRA-SDB
Don’t put your money in one account it really should be 4 different accounts and 10 accounts if your growing a business
That have saved me a few times
So she did not lose 1 million.
U dont need it. Your face is frozen enough
💀😅😅💀
Banks never call and ask for PIN numbers, full card numbers or your social. They have it already.
I love these stories . They make me feel so smart . Thanks ANF.
These scams will continue as long as people are gullible. Always CALL THE BANK.
She should be arrested. Probably knows the scammers
Ma'am, I'd like to talk to you about your car's extended warranty. Please send me all the money you have to keep the warranty active.
I got a call from my bank once. I told the person I don't bank there and that the person they were calling for isn't at the number they called and tried to make them believe they had the wrong number and person. Talked to them totally normal as if I believed they were the bank, wished them to have a great day and appreciated their time. 😂
Unfortunately, scammers will never stop, and they’ll still impersonate banks.
You have to be very careful these days😢😢😢
Former news producer here. Whenever I meet people who say they don’t watch the news I warn them that they’re putting themselves at risk when they don’t stay informed. Anyone who’s watched the news in the last 5-10 years knows if you get a call from your bank or credit card company, hang up immediately or don’t even answer, then call the number on the back of your card. I hate seeing scammers get rich off of the backs of hard working people. Glad they were able to get $600K back.
I don't see any harm in answering calls from my bank. That completely misses the point. Merely answering the call does not give the scammer the ability to wire money out of your account. I didn't even understand what allowed the scammer to wire the money (did the victim give away their online password?) in this news story, and that just shows that the news does NOT educate. It just wastes your time. Many of the commenters here say don't answer the phone. I've answered the phone many times when my financial institution called. It has always been legit. I was never scammed,
Why would you keep more than 250k in a single account at a single bank?
That is not the question you should be asking.
@@d.lawrence5670 FDIC will pay up to $250,000 if the bank goes out of business.
It’s getting to a point where people are going to have to invest in a large safe and keep all their money inside their home.
This guy does more to prevent and stop online scammers than the FBI *GrindTechiei* You're not only closing down scammers but also educating the public, making them aware. Well done!.
Extremely interesting and informative.
#1 rule don’t put $1million in 1 bank. Nuts.
What’s weird is even if the name is on the phone of whoever is calling you, is like whatever company it is ,doesn’t look right…I never answer my phone anymore unless it’s my family or someone I know…I let it go to voice mail….and if I am worried I just check my account online….nothing can be trusted anymore….just think if she would have checked her account first and then called the number on her card this wouldn’t have happened..or she should have her banks phone number programmed into her phone….
Someone from the bank was in on he scam.😎
You HAVE to have the bulk of your money in a separate cut off account(s).
That account shouldn't have any cards attached to it. No check books attached to it.
You transfer money in and any transfer out is heavily monitored
We need the bee keeper right know and law enforcement leave him to do is work
Always call the bank yourself. Always call the bank yourself. Always call the bank yourself. Always!
Exactly!
The literally definition of more money than brains.
Unbelievable. Heartbreaking.
This is someone in your bank. A new branch of my bank had just opened. Someone called me saying the they were an employee of the new branch. The person was very friendly. I thanked the person for their call. I looked up the new branch phone number which was one or two digits different from the caller. The person that the scammer claimed themself to be answered the phone. I told the person what had happened and gave the phone number to the person at the bank. These scammers have all the time in the world to cheat people. I even get scammers calling claiming that they are my doctor’s office.
these people provide the scammer with the tools and assist them and then they demand the bank do right by them
By law, regions need to refund her due to fraud.
What law?
There should,be a cap on the amount of wire transfers and how many can be made within a certain time frame,,,.why aren’t banks more proactive? This ruins hard workers or people who’ve accumulated THEIR own money
Not only receiving phone calls from scammers posing as bank employees but also receiving email from scammers that looks ‘legitimate’ from the bank.
Banks need to put better protections on wire transfers
@1:17 BULL SHIT.
Everytime they send you a pin they say to NEVER tell it to anyone or enter it on ANY website, except for the one that you requested the pin from...
These apps that let these scumbags impersonate other phone numbers should pay
Very sad, here in Australia my bank has voice verification/authentication with online banking over a certain amount, banks in the USA should implement this feature to protect its customers from these scum bags
That's a great idea they should adopt that technology here.
@@ontheroad5555 they should it’s peace of mind for the account holder. Without voice verification you cannot transfer funds on line especially large amounts. Scammers worst nightmare
CORRECTION : It was her "Husbands" money, not hers , Im sure she doesnt make or install glass of any kind
And we think as a society that cashless is the best way to go??? Maybe we should rethink that with the number of hacking stories are on the news on a regular basis.
I'd be willing to bet that the authentication system is not what Region uses. Why are we still having conversations like this? Why are we still answering texts and phone calls and typing in numbers like that when we know better? Initiating a phone call to a bank is one thing. Responding to an outside call and text is a whole different story.
This is why I have 5 different accounts. And I have nowhere near that much money.
Oh my God 😮!!!! I can't even imagine how devastated those people are.
I BET SOMEONE OR SOME GROUP WHO WORKED FOR THE BANK DID THIS. THEY KNEW YOU WERE ON YOUR ACCOUNT.
You are NEVER supposed to give the bank teller or customer service your code over the phone. The verification code is only to be entered online.
That was either a present employee or past
Always call the bank on your own
The scammers have cursed themselves. They're too proud and arrogant to come clean, so they'll continue scamming. It may seem like they've gotten away with it, but that's just God's grace period for them to repent before they get caught up...
>Be Her
>Strong
>Independent
>don't need to man
>immediately falls for the most played out scam of all time
>ignores literally the warning messages
>destroys her husband's life
>reinforces the stereotype that women never take accountability for their actions
With all these scammers go back like Grandma putting put your money under the mattress it's a sad world we live in with all the technology nothing is safe some many thieves working in the bank you can't trust anyone today.
Now I am convinced cash truly is king and banks can't be trusted
Ijust gotta say as a 29 yr old veteran in computer science, you guys rock. Thank you so much for helping these scammed folks keep their hard earned savings.
God Bless!
Unbelievable verses dude . It doesn't get much better than this, this is as top tier as it gets. Seriously, this is one of the strongest person I've heard in a long ass time. Incredible. *Nova cyber* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Never respond to a caller pretending to be your bank. Hang up and call directly.
that really stinks
Money in the bank and crypto is incredibly vulnerable to scamming hold on to physical assets.
A not so smart business couple..A bank will not call you and tell you to enter a code..