New Scam

[Norm's Coupe]

Ok, I've said before I don't like using online payments or banking etc., or using Debit Cards. However, it's getting so you can't even write a check anymore. It seems like before we know it the only safe place for money is buried in a coffee can in the yard.

Here's the scam.

I have a POA on my mothers bank accounts in case its needed to handle her affairs in case of emergency. So.........I got a call from my mother this morning telling me she had to change her accounts yesterday at the bank. Here's why.

Sunday evening she got a call from someone wanting her to verify her checking account information because of a problem at the bank. They then gave her, the name of her bank, her account numbers and all other information for her to verify. She did not give them any of that, they already had it. She didn't verify the information at the time and ask for the guys name and phone number. Monday morning she went to her bank in person to see what the problem was. As it turns out there was no problem with her accounts at the time. However, they did tell her several other customers had been contacted the same way, and didn't bother to double check like my mother did. Those people all lost several thousand dollars each before they realized what had happened. So...........the bank closed my mothers accounts and opened new ones just to be safe. Luckily she didn't lose any money before that. At least we don't think she did. Her social security check is normally automatically deposited on the 1st or 2nd of the month and it wasn't there yet. They are waiting until the 5th to see if that shows up.

The bank did call the number given to my mother to call back to from the original phone call. When that number answered it just said "Customer Service", then said to leave a message. Of course, no one called them back. It was not one of the banks customer service numbers.

Since my mother does not use a Debit Card either and rarely a credit card, shreds all papers with her name on it when throwing away, it means someone she wrote a check to had a breach in their system somewhere.

Just putting this out there as a warning. If you have an elderly parent, etc. you may want to warn them about this.

[JerseyHarold]

Norm,

If your mother hasn't done so yet, she should contact the local police and report an attempted breach of her bank accounts. Her bank may want to keep this quiet for public-relations reasons, but she should still protect herself. It's important that there be a paper trail documenting this event.

If you have a telephone number, try using a reverse directory to see if there's a name/address listed for it. One good reverse directory site is:

http://www.freeality.com/findet.htm

Thanks for spreading the word and keep us posted if there are any new developments.

Harold

[Norm's Coupe]

Harold,

I guess the bank did notify the police department of the scam. This stuff is usually hard to trace and if they do find out who's doing it, its usually in some 3d world country where they can't get at the people. If it was due to a breach in a system though, that should come out soon. I will update this if I do find out any more though.

That said, you can't even trust social security to safely handle your information. Case in point. About 8 or 9 months ago I got a letter from our local social security office. Had my name on the envelope so I opened it. Inside the envelope was a letter addressed to some woman about her social security claim. Gave the claim number, her address and her complete social security number in the letter. I then called the person at the social security office and asked them what I should do with this letter. My answer: "Oh, were sorry but it must have been put in the wrong envelope. Just throw it away and we'll send the woman another letter". I didn't just throw the letter away. I put it through the shredder first. However, the social security person seemed to treat it is not important that I had that womans information. Doesn't say much about their system does it.