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2K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  American 
#1 · (Edited)
Our checking account and my debit card was hit by fraud today, it started around 11:00 am and as late as 9:27 pm whom ever it is was still trying to commit fraud on our account.

We spent 5 hours today at the bank closing our account and setting up a new account, which means our direct deposits had to be resubmitted.

The party somehow got into our account and was able to change my password locking me out, he set up the account to use a transfer service called "Zelle" it is supposed to be like a PayPal type of account where you can send people money, the person sent himself $60.00 dollars from the account and called it lunch on the "Zelle" site. Tonight I received an alert via email from the bank that he is trying to set up a Samsung Pay account on his Samsung phone.

The subject made a serious error when he opened the "Zelle" account in that he used his gmail email account and it is set up in his first and last name and the information shows up on the "Zelle" page where he used "Zelle" to send the $60.00 dollars from our account to himself, hopefully that will lead to his arrest and prosecution. My wife went on line and found a single person with this mans name and he was arrested in Broward County Florida in the past for Bank Fraud.

Police reports have been filled out as well.

So check your accounts because these people somehow can get ahold of your information and the next thing you know your accounts are draining fast.

The Samsung Pay account won't be approved because the cards have been canceled earlier today so he is likely to only have made off with the $60.00 dollars, but here is the kicker, if we had not caught that this afternoon after returning from a motorcycle ride there was a large direct deposit that was scheduled to be deposited into the account tonight, that deposit now won't go through but if it had and we were not aware of the fraudulent activity on our account this person would have made off with a lot of money.

So once again check your accounts daily and multiple times a day, set up the alerts to hit your email and to alert your phone if your bank offers those services so you can shut down fraudulent transactions as fast as you can.

Just a little more information on this "Zelle" service, it is very easy with zero safe guards to send money through them in fact this is what they say: Zelle lets you send money to friends, family, or anyone at all. All you need is their name and email address or mobile number to move money from your bank account to theirs.
 
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#2 ·
WOW!

Thanks for the info and warning...

My wife is an accountant and watches our accounts like a under-fed hawk...but I know I am a lucky one here...the rest of you all...need to be careful...it is a wicked world out there...please be careful.

T
 
#3 · (Edited)
Update:

The direct deposit did go through into the account that was closed yesterday, I don't know how that happened, but I quickly transferred the large deposit from the old account to the new account so hopefully this guy can't get into the old account anymore nor the new account. We have to go to the bank this morning to finish filing the fraud report on the $60.00 because until it shows up as cleared on the account and is no longer pending they don't consider it fraud.

One more thing I did not have in the first email was that this same person also submitted an application for a Regions credit card in my name. So in 43 minutes he had gotten access to our account, set up a Zelle account and sent himself $60.00 dollars to his account and filed an application for a credit card in my name all through Regions Bank. Then 10 hours later he was trying to set up a Samsung pay account on his phone on my old debit card which was canceled yesterday afternoon.

I am thinking if he filled out a credit card application in my name he has to be having it going to a different address so he could get the card plus all the other information he used to fill out the application.

So they have the credit card application information he submitted, they have the gmail email address that he had the $60.00 dollars sent to so there is plenty of information to run down where this money went to and where the credit card address is that was used.

Here is the big mistake he made he revered his first and last name using his name as his first and his first name as his last and he removed one letter from each name. So it is easy to match his fake name he used on the account to he real name on his email account.

We pulled up the real name on line and had a mugshot photo of this man and one of his past charges was being arrested in Broward County, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for bank fraud.
 
#4 · (Edited)
You probably have a Trojan virus on the computer that you use to access your bank account (or phone).

If the guy has control of your computer, you can keep changing your bank account everyday, and he will keep getting the new password and security info from your PC.

BTW, if someone convinces a bank to give them money using your account information, they have not stolen your money, they have stolen the banks money. Its covered by the FDIC insurance.

It will be a PITA to get your account straightened out, and some of your bill payments might be missed or late, but the bank will fix it and give you your "money credit" in your account.

Someone pretending to be you online is the same as someone walking into the bank with a fake ID, pretending to be you, or walking in with a gun. Its the banks loss and security problem, not yours, so its their loss.
 
#6 ·
So far today all the illegal activity has stopped, Found out the suspect used a phony social security number when he tried to open the credit card so that was flagged as possible fraud right away and today notations were added to the file confirming that that credit card application is in fact fraud so that is stopped.

The debit card was canceled yesterday so Samsung Pay can't set up an account on that card, the subject has more than likely tried to access the account and found he is now locked out of all of it and is moving on to his next victim, these guys don't just pull this on one person at a time.

If the bank and police department work together this guy left enough information that they should be able to track him, the Zelle account he set up and used to send himself the $60.00 dollars identified himself and the money gets deposited into his own account so there is information to track him.

The problem is it is only $60.00 dollars so no one really puts much effort but when it is $60.00 here and $45.00 dollars there and so on it starts adding up, but each case is separate so they are all in small amounts that the police and courts don't want to deal with.

This subjects criminal record shows he has been given breaks every time he has been arrested with adjudication withheld every time.

He only got a year probation for the identity theft the last time in Broward County, Florida. No jail time.
 
#7 · (Edited)
The thing that is worrysome is he was able to change the password / pin number on your card, or your online banking access.

If someone scanned your card they would not have your password. If someone put a scanner on a gas pump then they might get your card number and maybe your pin number when you typed it in.

But normally to go online, they need your username and password, or your email address to say "I forgot my password". Then they would need the answers to your security questions.

If he was able to re-direct your online banking he would need to have access to that information, or he got a trojan virus on your computer, or he broke into your house and found a sheet of paper with all your passwords and security answers... or someone at the bank gave it to him.

A virus can be put on your computer as simply as sending you a fake email, if you open it, it runs.

This happens on craigslist - someone posts a vehicle for a good price with no photos, and says "if you want photos I will send then... and they send you a trojan virus.

To be as safe as possible, only use your debit card tied to your checking account for very limited transactions. Get another account with only a little money in it for sending money on the internet.

And if possible, use a separate computer for your online banking from whatever you use to browse the internet for other things.
 
#8 ·
I have the emails of everything that this guy did, he contacted the bank and somehow convinced whom ever it was he talked to into changing account settings, the bank sends a email when that is done with a number assigned to the email for tracking purposes.

That is how he was able to take control of the account.

There is a complete tracking of everything this guy did, from his setting up the Zelle account which is super easy to do, it shows this guy sending himself the money to his own account. Now it does not show the account number but that is something the banks involved could work with each other on.

Someone at the bank either dropped the ball to a sob story or they worked with this guy.

This guys email account used is his name, his real name, what he did was he reversed his first and last name and removed one letter from each, but with Zelle all you need is a phone number, or email address to send the money to the account. This guys real name is his email address. That is how we were able to pull him up on line and find out his criminal history.

This guy took his first name removed a letter from it and used it as his last name, then he took his last name removed one letter from it and used it as his first name. He is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Unfortunately due to the amount of money involved the police departments just don't care.
 
#9 ·
^ from what you posted someone at the bank really screwed up, to the point of being liable, and probably will get fired.

A person's SS number is not secret. Every check you mail out has your checking account and bank routing number on it, and your address. Its not hard to find a persons date of birth, your mothers maiden name. There are many people that have access to all that information, and everytime you buy something online you give them your card number.

Its up to the bank to keep your account secure and your money protected, knowing all that ^ information is out there. That is their only job.

When I was a teenager I knew an older gentleman who walked to the nearby bank every friday before dinner to cash his paycheck. One day on the way back home he woke up on someones lawn, with a headache, and no wallet.

Its better that thieves are stealing money online, instead of wonking people over the head with a lead pipe, or shooting people. They are still thieves, but at least you dont have a fractured skull for your $60.
 
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#10 · (Edited)
OK, so it looks like the fraudulent activity has been stopped.

KCW, we only write 4 checks a year and they all go to my wife's mother, she is in her seventies and my wife likes to send her some money from her bonuses when she gets them each quarter.

Be on the watch if your account gets hit for the following name that is used to send money from your account using Zelle (pronounced ZELL):

Durant Felon (this is a fake name)

Yes that would be a huge red flag if I was a bank employee.

The second name you need to watch for is who the name Durant Felon sends the money to: Felton Durante

Notice the names are reversed and one letter has been removed from the reversed name. With Zelle all you need is a phone number or an email address to send money to someones account. In this case it was a @gmail email account that was used to send the money to this persons account.

There is plenty of evidence if law enforcement will take this seriously the problem is this is only a $60.00 dollar amount but when you look at the industry it is billions of dollars every year, it is past time for police to start taking these cases seriously.

If your account is hit and you see these two names with a Zelle transfer involved it is fraud.
 
#11 ·
Last post on this.

It took 10 days and I am now finally back to being able to access my own account. Be cautious and check your accounts daily if not several times a day or set up a schedule where you check your account at certain times each day. That is the quickest way to catch fraud and stop it from draining your account.

You don't think 10 days is a long time until you can't access your own money to purchase anything then 10 days seems like a month.

Hopefully I won't get locked out again.
 
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