PHOENIX — A call from your bank, claiming there are fraudulent charges on your account. It happened to Kari.
But the person on the phone wasn’t actually with Bank of America, they were a scammer, posing as an employee. However, the phone number matched the number on her bank card, so Kari didn’t question the call further.
The scammer told her there were multiple Zelle transactions on her account. They asked her to hit ‘OK’ authorizing the transactions so the bank could then dispute them.
Kari did it and she lost more than $1,800.
“I felt sick to my stomach,” she said remembering the moment the funds left her account.
Kari disputed the transactions with Bank of America’s fraud department but she was denied.
Even though Kari authorized the transactions under false pretenses, since she did authorize them, the bank does not recognize it as fraud.
The Let Joe Know team reached out to Bank of America, asking if Kari’s transactions would be reversed.
A bank spokesperson emailed us this statement:
It’s unfortunate when people fall for scams like this. In cases like this, we attempt to get the money back from the receiving bank; however, there is no guarantee since the customer has authorized the payment. We alert clients during the transaction if they are sending money to a new recipient that they should only send to people they know and trust. Additionally, they see: “BEWARE: Bank of America will never ask you to transfer money to anyone, including yourself. Don’t transfer money as a…
