Arizona man’s $27K savings drained after scammers ‘turned his phone into a weapon’ — what he did next saved most of it

A man from Peoria, Arizona, was scammed out of his life savings in a matter of hours, and it all started with a text that he thought was from his bank.

Earlier this year, a message that appeared to be from Bank of America was sent to Dave’s phone — who asked that only his first name be used — according to 12News. The message asked if he had made a purchase at Best Buy for $399 and asked him to reply yes or no. He texted “no,” and then was given a phone number to call.

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The person on the phone stated that Dave’s bank account had been compromised by a bank employee and instructed Dave to withdraw all the funds from his account in cash. The scammer then gave him instructions to use his iPhone to connect to an account. The account had been linked to their Apple Wallet. Dave deposited $27,000 — his life savings — into the scammer’s account, using the card created in his Apple Wallet, at the bank’s drive-thru ATM.

Dave called Bank of America’s fraud department the following day, worried something was amiss, but he said the bank told him there was nothing they or law enforcement could do — his money was gone.

Local law enforcement steps in

Dave called local law enforcement anyway, and they got involved in the case. A detective was able to get the account information from the bank and obtain a warrant to freeze the accounts.

“I’d never seen this before: a scannable card in his wallet to activate the ATM, to turn it into a direct account-to-account portal,” Peoria police detective Michael Finney told 12News. “They basically turned his phone into a weapon.”

Finney was able to recover about 90% of Dave’s money after five months. He also noted that in most cases, if the crime isn’t reported within 72 hours, the likelihood of recovering the stolen money is slim. The investigation is still active, and Finney has traced the scammer’s account to Florida; he’s waiting for information that may identify the scammer.

How to protect yourself from scams

Finney said the best way to protect yourself from this type of scam is to never reply directly to any text, phone call or email that claims to be from your bank, or a government agency like the IRS or the USPS. If you get a text or email like this, call the number on the back of your bank card, and check if your account has been compromised. If someone calls you on the phone, hang up immediately and call the bank or the agency’s official phone number. A good rule of thumb is that if you feel scared or threatened, it is likely a scam.

The FBI’s tips on avoiding scams include: do not click on anything in an unsolicited text or email; set up multi-factor identification on any account that allows it; be careful sharing information online that may give scammers the answers to your security questions, such as birthdays, family members and schools you attended; and remember that companies will generally not ask you for your username or password.

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How can I protect myself from digital payment scams?

With the increase in digital payment methods, such as Apple Pay, there also comes a rise in fraudsters looking to exploit the technology. While Dave’s case is rare, in that the thieves convinced him to add an account to his device, there has been a rise in scams using digital wallets through phishing.

As reported by The Guardian, scammers claiming to be from the USPS collect personal information through text messages, offering online shopping deals that are too good to be true. People enter their personal information after clicking a phony link. Then they take this information and open a digital wallet in your name. At the same time, they will contact you, claiming to be the bank, asking if you tried to open an account or make a purchase. The actual bank will send you a verification code, and the scammer will ask you for that code, allowing them to open an account in your name.

Another common scam with digital payment methods involves unsolicited payments. A target will randomly get a payment from a stranger, and then they will contact you to say the payment was a mistake. But the scammer has used a stolen card to send you the money. They will then switch the account details to their own, so that when you send the money back, it goes directly to them. The original payment they made is canceled, and the money you’ve sent will vanish.

Protect yourself by avoiding unsolicited messages and their links, changing the settings in your digital payment methods to manually accept payments, as well as being careful when using public Wi-Fi networks. Do not enter sensitive information or add accounts to digital wallets while on public Wi-Fi.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.