Durham woman loses nearly $6,000 in bank impersonation scam: 'Heartbroken'
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Durham woman says she is out nearly $6,000 after receiving a phone call she believed was from her bank.
Mindy Songer says the call appeared to come from State Employees' Credit Union, making her believe there was a problem with her account. She says the caller told her someone had accessed her account and was stealing $3,000.
Trying to stop the fraud, Songer says she gave the caller her account login information.
I was heartbroken, I was mad, I was angry.- Mindy Songer
"They were trying to get it all, but the bank flagged it and stopped it," Songer said. Or so she thought.
Because she thought she was talking to her bank, Songer provided the requested information about her account. With that information, she says scammers transferred money from her bank account to her Cash App account, which was linked to her bank account. From there, she says, the scammers transferred the money to their own accounts.
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"They ended up taking $5,900. This is fraud. I want my money back," Songer said.
She reported the fraud to her bank and Cash App and also filed a police report. She says she was told she would not be getting the money back because she had provided the scammers with her account information. Songer says losing this money makes a huge impact.
"I was heartbroken, I was mad, I was angry," she said.
Both State Employees' Credit Union and Cash App warn customers about impersonation scams. Scammers can make a phone call appear to come from a legitimate bank or credit card company by spoofing the caller ID. The same technology can also be used in text-message scams.
Consumer protection experts recommend:
- Never give your account login information to someone who calls you unexpectedly.
- Never share a verification or security code with someone who contacts you.
- If someone claims there is a problem with your account, hang up and contact the bank or credit card company directly.
- Use the phone number printed on the back of your bank or credit card rather than a number provided by the caller or in a text message.
Even if the caller ID appears to show your bank's name or phone number, it may not be legitimate.
