I was the victim of a scam over three years ago. After all of this time I still feel the embarrassment and the pit in my stomach from that disturbing day.
It started with a call to my cell phone when I was helping some nurses with education on a new process.
I normally don’t answer a number I don’t recognize, but the same number rang again, so I said “Hello.” A very friendly man asked me if I had bought something from somewhere in Arkansas that morning. Of course I had not purchased anything anywhere. “Well, he said, I am calling from your bank, and we will cancel that transaction and get you a new card.”
Over the course of the next 20 minutes or so, I was unknowingly giving him information to get into my account. He kept assuring me that my account was safe and he just needed a certain code one more time that would verify and clear up everything.
As soon as I hung up from him, I had this terrible feeling of remorse. I opened up my checking account from the app on my phone and was horrified to see that $1,500 had been withdrawn. Panic set in, and I quickly called the number on my debit card. I was mortified that I had just compromised my own account.
The man that I talked to was very kind and supportive. He said these people are professionals and are very good at what they do. They know exactly what to say to make you believe they are…
