According to the San Bernardino sheriff’s department, a man was contacted by someone identifying themselves as a Chase Bank agent – and told the man that there were fraudulent purchases on his chase account. The victim says they confirmed that the number matched the number on the back of their card, and thinking the call was odd – they called the number back and were reassured that they were speaking with the Chase fraud department.
The victim was instructed to wire money to the supposed fraud department, saying they would get it back on Monday the 27th.
The victim didn’t receive a phonecall or the money back on Monday, and after walking into a Chase bank the victim confirmed that Chase had not contacted him.
According to the Sheriff’s report, the victim is out $49,000.
Z107.7 wants to remind you to never transfer money using a wire service or an app like Venmo or PayPal to anyone on the phone representing themselves as a legitimate business trying to settle a debt. Businesses and government institutions will never ask or pressure you to immediately transfer funds to them, especially if it is over an untraceable method such as electronic transfers.
If you ever suspect you are the victim of someone trying to scam you – hang up the phone and contact law enforcement. If you don’t recognize a phone number calling you – let it go to voicemail so you can take your time listening to the caller’s request.
If the caller is saying they are from a bank, public utility or law enforcement agency – hang up the phone and call the business directly and explain the situation.
FCC: Phone frauds, scams and alerts
FTC: How to avoid a phone scam
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