Officials warn of banking spoof callers draining customers' accounts

Officials are warning customers about banking spoof calls that could trick them into emptying their accounts, with scammers posing as banking or law enforcement officials who claim they are trying to protect the customer’s money.

The FBI has described these calls as a growing problem in which customers are convinced to move their money, costing them thousands of dollars, according to ABC 7.

The agency has said spoofing and phishing schemes are designed to trick victims into providing sensitive information, such as passwords or bank PINs. Suspected cyber-enabled scams can be reported through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Chase customer Jennifer Lichthardt described how she lost $40,000 after receiving a spoof call.

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"The first call I got, it was the number on the back of my Chase debit card, and it said Chase fraud department," Lichthardt told ABC 7.

The scammers, who were pretending to call from her bank's number, said that Chase employees were accessing accounts. They claimed to be representing Chase and even the FBI.

"They read me my account number. They had my account balance down to the penny," Lichthardt said. "They had fake FBI agents that gave me an agent number."

Lichthardt was eventually convinced to move nearly $40,000 from her Chase account into a new so-called "secured" Chase account at her local branch and to transfer thousands more to another online bank. The money she sent later disappeared.

She reported what happened after she realized she had been scammed the following morning.

Lichthardt described feeling "financially violated" after the incident.

Chase said that "her funds were withdrawn from the scammer's account the same day" the funds were deposited.

"We urge all consumers to ignore phone, text, or internet requests to move money or gain access to their computer or bank accounts. Banks and legitimate companies won't make these requests, but scammers will," Chase said in a statement to ABC 7.

The Federal Trade Commission also has a direct warning for consumers, saying it is a scam if someone tells consumers to move their money to "protect it."

"Never transfer or send money, cryptocurrency, or gold to someone you don’t know in response to an unexpected call or message," the FTC website reads.

Huntington Bank customer Susie Allgood also received a spoof call from someone claiming to be from Zelle.

"And in order to continue to receive, continue receiving money to and from Zelle, I had to upgrade my Zelle account to a business account," Allgood told ABC 7. "Because he said he was from Zelle and working with Huntington Bank. So, why would I not believe him? He already had my routing number."

Allgood said she was convinced to send $5,000 via Zelle to the scammer's account to keep her money "safe."

"I think that each case needs to be looked at individually because, did I send the money? Yes, I did. I will admit to that. But I was also instructed by somebody who had the last four of my bank account, had my phone number," Allgood said.

Both women reported their experiences to local authorities and the FBI.

Responding to whether she believes she will get her money back, Lichthardt said, "I don't know. I hope I do."

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Neither victim had received a refund from her bank after being scammed and convinced to move money, according to ABC 7.

Banks generally cover certain types of unauthorized fraud, such as when someone steals your debit card information. A bank will never call a customer and ask that person to send money.

The FBI and other experts said criminals can find some banking information from the dark web or through dumpster diving. When they obtain that data, they may also be able to call the person's bank's automated system to review the customer’s account balance or transactions.

"When somebody is calling pretending to be the FBI, the victim then thinks they are in trouble. They are already frazzled, and when they are making these decisions, the criminal then starts to rush them more. The more they are rushed, the more decision-making they make last-minute," Robert Richardson, a special agent with the FBI Chicago Field Office, told ABC 7.