A scam using Zelle digital payments. A woman lost $2,000
Margie Morgan was recently scammed out of $2,000 in a scheme involving Zelle digital payments and a woman who posed as a representative of Wells Fargo. Morgan, a food entrepreneur in Edina, fell victim to the scam because it was a new form of phishing, the practice of sending fraudulent communications that look real. It began as a text message to Morgan's phone that appeared to be from Wells Fargo, but ultimately wasn't.
The texts asked Morgan if she had authorized money transfers from her account. Morgan hit "no" and immediately received a call from a woman who portrayed herself as a Wells Fargo representative. Morgan said she didn't think much about it because she received legitimate phone calls from the bank and American Express in the past asking about fraudulent activity. The woman told Morgan that to recover the unauthorized transactions, Morgan would need to make reverse transfers to herself via Zelle. She followed the woman's directions, which involved using a PIN the scammer gave her. But the money flowed out of her account, not into it.
Morgan, 57, learned later from an actual Wells Fargo representative that she'd been duped out of $3,000. Wells Fargo was able to recover one $1,000 transfer but not a second transfer for $2,000, which had been processed, Morgan said. "I've been beside myself because I started a small business last year and $2,000 cleaned me out," she said.
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Zelle is an immediate form of payment and scammers who receive payments from victims typically withdraw the funds from the receiving financial institution immediately, making recovery difficult, Friedlander said. On its website, Zelle draws a distinction between fraud and scams, saying a scam happens when a customer is "knowingly involved." "Even if you were tricked or persuaded into authorizing a payment for a good or service someone said they were going to provide, but they didn't fulfill it, this would be considered a scam," Zelle warns. As a result, it tells customers they may not be able to get their money back.
More..
https://www.startribune.com/edina-businesswoman-describes-digital-payments-scam-that-cost-her-2000/600148898/ (may be behind a firewall)
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Never heard of this site and will never use it.
= new reply since forum marked as read
