A WOMAN has been left in debt after losing thousands of dollars to a sinister scam.
Equestrian trainer Alixe Garcia lost $5,700 in less than an hour to the cruel ploy.
It began when she received one simple text in early June.
The message asked her if she had authorized a bank transaction of almost $3,000.
Not crossing her mind that this wasn’t a genuine text from her bank, she simply responded: “No.”
But just a few minutes later, she got a call – with the ID appearing to suggest it was a Wells Fargo customer service number.
“It sounded like he had access to being able to view my accounts,” Garcia said.
The call lasted 41 minutes in total, and would see her lose a devastating sum of money.
She transferred $5,700 from her accounts to Apple Cash.
The money was supposed to new Wells Fargo accounts that the mystery called was meant to have helped her set up.
“Thirty minutes later, I log on: no money,” Garcia said.
“I waited another 30 minutes. I’m, like, ‘Maybe it’s a little slow.’ No money.
“Then I was just, like, sick thinking about it.”
The true horror of what had happened was made clear the next day when she called the bank.
Her mystery caller had not been an official from her bank after all, and her money was gone.
According to NBC, there are four key signs to watch out for to stay safe from banking scams.
The first is how fraudsters can create a good spoof – as they did with Wells Fargo’s number here, making their attempts to reach her seem genuine.
Next is that the person on the other end of the phone seemed like they genuinely wanted to help, making them a good imposter.
“I would guess this person at some point in time worked for a bank,” Garci said. “I mean, they sounded so incredibly knowledgeable.”
The third point is the sense of urgency, as the scammer urged her to take immediate action around her money.
Finally, they caught her off guard at one of the busiest times of the day, making it easier to distract an unsuspecting victim.
A Wells Fargo spokesperson said: “We deeply empathize with those affected by financial scams and understand the significant emotional and financial toll they cause.
“Safeguarding our customers’ assets is our top priority, and we are actively working to raise awareness of common scams through various resources and ongoing education.
“We have robust security measures in place and conduct thorough investigations of fraud and scam reports before making claim decisions.”
