Local Yungerman Loses $10,000 To Scammers

By Idy Perl

Scammers are becoming increasingly smarter with their methods and are fooling more and more people every day. They’re now able to replicate legitimate banks and companies better than ever. A local yungerman in New Square learned this the hard way when he got scammed out of nearlty $10,000 dollars yesterday, and it can happen to you too.

The man got a call from his bank, Bank of America. The number that appeared was Bank of America’s number and looked completely legitimate. They told him that they were calling from the fraud department because they had noticed fraudulent activity in his account.

They then said that they can help him set up an extra security measure on his account that will detect fraud faster. When he agreed to set it up, they texted him a link that again looked completely legit. When he followed the link it took him to a site that resembled the Bank of America website.

They started asking him which charges he recognized and which he didn’t, as if to identify the fraudulent charges. There were a few times during the call that he got texts with codes, and they convinced him that since they were his bank he could give them the codes. They finished setting up the “security measure” and he put down the phone.

Later at night he checked his bank account and got the shock of his life when he saw a balance of $43 instead of the $9,200 that he had there before.

He’s sharing his story to warn others of scammers’ sophisticated methods. Even when a call or a website looks legitimate, it might still be a scam.

A bank or insurance company will never ask for a code that a customer receives over text, and you should never share these codes with anyone. If you suspect a scam, ask for more verification of their identity and a callback number. If they’re hesitant to share it or become defensive, end the call immediately.