Chase Teller Blocks $9,000 Scam Transfer From 81-Year-Old Customer
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7
Chase Teller Blocks $9,000 Scam Transfer From 81-Year-Old Customer
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7
Summary
$9,000 was stopped from leaving an 81-year-old widow’s account after Chase teller Karen Battista found the “new account” she was told to fund belonged to a man, not the customer.
A spoofed Chase caller ID and a fake fraud alert about three $1,000 Zelle transfers led the customer to believe a man named “Michael” was helping protect her money.
Battista, working at a Scarsdale, New York, branch, warned that once the transfer went through the money would be gone; the scammer was still listening on the customer’s phone during the exchange.
The case illustrates how branch tellers, who often know regular customers well, are becoming a last line of defense as scammers steal billions by coaching victims through bank transactions.