JPMorgan Chase says news that a scammer stole $11,000 from a retired postal worker’s account is heartbreaking – but the bank will not make the customer whole.
Indiana resident Robert Wolfe says he recently received a text message that appeared to be from the banking giant asking if he initiated a pair of large transactions from his account, reports the CBS-affiliated news station WKMG.
Wolfe replied “No” and says he promptly received a phone call from a slick scammer who claimed to be a Chase representative.
“The scammers are using Chase’s very own system against them. I believed without a doubt I was talking to someone from Chase security.”
The scammer sent a one-time passcode to Wolfe’s phone and asked him to read the number aloud, which he did.
Wolfe says he then realized something was not right, and he called the bank directly. But despite his fast action, $11,000 was ripped out of his account, and Chase denied his claim.
“It happened very quickly and I’ve gotten no assistance from Chase to get the money back.
I’ve reached the point where I think my money is almost safer in my pocket than it is in the bank.”
JPMorgan released a statement on the matter and says Wolfe’s story is sad, but he will not be reimbursed.
“It’s heartbreaking when criminals trick consumers into sending money or sharing their account information, passwords, or one-time passcodes. Banks will never call you to ask for this type of information, but scammers will.”
If the fraudsters had used the payments platform Zelle, things may have been different.
The 2,100 financial firms who use Zelle have started to reimburse customers who were tricked and authorized criminal transactions, reports Reuters.
Customers can report fraud on the Zelle network here.
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