Nov 13, 2024
When Charlotte Stenz picked up her phone after getting a call from her bank, the Connecticut woman had no idea that fateful choice would wind up with her crying in the parking lot of her Wells Fargo branch for a TikTok video.
Unfortunately, like millions of Americans, Stenz was targeted by scammers who wanted access to her account — and they succeeded.
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"I did everything that they said to do, and they literally drained my bank account," she explained.
Here are the details to the scam, along with some tips on how to avoid the same fate.
A familiar phone number leads to disaster
Stenz's trouble began when she saw a familiar phone number on her caller ID.
"I got a call from a Wells Fargo number saying that I had fraudulent activity on my account and that a random person was being sent money from Zelle," she recalled. "They told me to go onto my account and that I needed to secure my Zelle on my end by sending money that would go back to my account right after."
Zelle is a U.S.–based digital payments network which is run by a private financial services company owned by consortium of American banks. Stenz, who had never used the service before, took their warning seriously and complied, making multiple transfers via Zelle. They told her she was sending different amounts to fraud departments, so the transactions would all be reversed.
The person she was speaking to on the phone was not a Wells Fargo rep, as she discovered when she went into the bank to confirm that she'd been talking to a legitimate customer service staff member.
When she showed up at the bank and began to cry, a bank employee helped her connect with the fraud department, which was trying to dispute the transactions. However, she had 10 days to wait before finding out if her money would come back to her.
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Stenz rued her decisions on Tiktok, indicating she suspected she wasn't talking to a legitimate employee of Wells Fargo.
"I felt like it was sketchy the whole time, but since it came from a Wells Fargo number, I trusted it," she lamented.
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Anyone can fall victim to a scam
Stenz isn't alone when it comes to falling victim to a scam. The Federal Trade Commission reports that consumers lost a record $10 billion in 2023.
Technologies used to trick Stenz are one reason for that, as it's become possible for scammers to actually make it appear that they're calling from a legitimate number.
"Digital tools are making it easier than ever to target hard-working Americans,” Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a news release.
As tech makes it possible for fraudsters to find new ways to take your money, protecting yourself has become more important than ever. Here's how you can do that:
- Don't ever give information or respond to commands when someone calls you on the phone. If you receive a call from an alleged bank or government employee, hang up, look up the actual phone number online and call them back.
- Use two-factor authentication. When setting up important accounts, always opt for two-factor authentication when possible. This means that you'll need to enter your password and also verify your account via a different method, such as getting a text sent to your email or phone.
- Don't click on unfamiliar links. If you get a text or an email from a company asking you to click on a link and enter information, don't click the link. Instead, navigate directly to the company's website from your browser.
By following best practices, hopefully, you can avoid falling victim to a scam like the one Stenz was unfortunately caught up in. If you are defrauded, it's important to let your bank or credit card company know as soon as possible. While there's no guarantee, they may be able to recover some of your money.
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Christy Bieber has 15 years of experience as a personal finance and legal writer. She has written for many publications including Forbes, Kilplinger, CNN, WSJ, Credit Karma, Insurify and more.
