Natalia Chi
A stark reminder of the growing threat of financial fraud, Deborah Moss, owner of a small catering company, was caught in a sophisticated bank scam that began with a seemingly harmless text message. I noticed.
After more than a decade of building his business, Moss finally saved enough to pursue a peaceful life in rural Guerneville, California. But her dreams began to crumble when she received a text message from her bank, Chase, asking about fraudulent charges on her $35 debit card from out of state. Initially dismissed as a minor inconvenience, Moss quickly responded:
Shortly after receiving the text message, Moss received a call from someone claiming to represent Chase Bank, with the caller ID displaying the bank’s name. The person on the other end of the phone was someone who claimed to be “Miss Barbara” of Chase ATM. They asked Moss for permission to issue new debit cards to settle the fraud allegations.
Little did Moss know that a seemingly friendly caller would demand further action before issuing a new card. Barbara instructed Moss to scan the number in a subsequent text message sent over the phone to confirm her identity.
“And when I repeated the number to her, she said, ‘That’s great. Thank you very much, Mr. Moss,'” Moss said.
Over the next week, Barbara called Moss several times, each time complaining of a problem with the card delivery, and each time asking Moss to verify his identity by reading out his text message number.
It wasn’t until Moss visited the nearest bank branch that the shocking truth came out. Her supervisor told her that her account had been greatly depleted, wiping out nearly $160,000 she had saved in her lifetime.
In shock and despair, Ms. Moss finds herself owed a staggering $895 to Chase Bank because the scammers have used up all her funds.
“That was all my money. It took me 12 years to get that money. It was my life savings,” Moss said.
Moss’s ordeal shines a light on the escalating trend of fraud and the staggering economic losses suffered by Americans, with government data showing a staggering 30% year-on-year increase in reported losses last year. reached $8.8 billion.
Moss received genuine text messages from Chase Bank as part of a two-factor authentication system to increase customer security. However, the scammers were able to trick Moss into revealing the numbers, bypassing security measures and transferring large sums of money from Moss’ account. In just one week, they made six of his wire transfers, some of which brought him close to $48,000.
Moss filed a complaint with the police to try to recover the stolen funds, and filed a complaint with Chase Bank. But after waiting five weeks, her claim was dismissed and her hopes dashed.
Chase Bank held Moss responsible, claiming she had failed to take adequate precautions to protect her accounts from unauthorized access. As a result, they refused to repay her account, leaving Moss feeling devastated and betrayed.
“My world collapsed. My whole world collapsed,” Moss said. “We think banks are places where we keep our money for safety, but they aren’t. We need to change that.”
In a statement to CBS News, JPMorgan Chase said: “Unfortunately, Mr. Moss’s account has been compromised as a result of scammers tricking Mr. Moss into obtaining sensitive personal information.”
Bank officials at the time attempted to contact Moss by phone and email regarding the wire transfer, Chase said. Moss claims to have never received any of these messages. Chase provided the following tips to keep in mind: Do not share personal account information such as ATM PINs or passcodes. Note that banks typically don’t call. However, if you really want to talk to your bank, call the number on the back of your card. Finally, avoid clicking on suspicious links in text messages and emails.
In a statement, JPMorgan Chase defended its commitment to combating fraud, stating, “We are using authentication, risk models, technology and employee, customer We invest hundreds of millions of dollars in education every year.”
David Weber, a certified fraud examiner and professor of forensic accounting, blames Chase Bank for the bankruptcy of Moss and for failing to implement stronger security measures.
“Obviously they failed. They failed her,” Weber said. She said, “Her bank could have gone to her in person and demanded that she sign her wire transfer form. He said he would not be held responsible for
He also said that current two-factor authentication systems, including text messaging, are insufficient to combat the increasingly sophisticated tactics used by fraudsters.
“In the U.S., this exact same trick happens hundreds of thousands of times a day. Two-factor authentication isn’t strong enough to protect this customer,” Weber said. said.
