Scammers in North Texas are preying on unsuspecting victims with a strategy known as the 'bank impostor' scam, conning people out of thousands of dollars. Two residents, Pastor Oscar Epps and Sam Heller, found themselves ensnared by fraudulent calls that appeared to come from their respective banks. Epps, from the Cedar Hill vicinity, and Heller, a Roanoke area local, experienced near-identical scams last Tuesday when their trust in caller ID was exploited by thieves.
Heller described the chillingly effective ruse in an interview with FOX 4 News, "My name is so-and-so from Chase Bank. Looks like there's some suspicious activity on your account. Somebody's trying to purchase something from a Best Buy in Phoenix, Arizona,” and continued to narrate how she was tricked into reading back a verification text message, which led to her account quickly being drained of funds through small purchases and ATM withdrawals totaling $2,600.
The Better Business Bureau's Monica Horton chimed in with advice for the public, suggesting a hard line against providing personal information during unsolicited contacts. "Anytime you receive an unsolicited text message, phone call, email, a phishing attempt, and that's what these are, is to discontinue that conversation. Guard your PIN number and guard any two-factor authentication messages that you receive. Don't give them out to the crooks," Horton urged, in statements referenced by The Australian.
Epps encountered a similar plight to Heller's but with even greater financial repercussions. He confessed to FOX 4 News, "After doing what they did as far as all the little charges they did in terms of gift cards at a Kroger grocery store, they then sucked money from my account, $6,500." The aftermath for these individuals outlines the stark disparity in outcomes. While Heller is hopeful for the restoration of her lost funds, Epps found no such solace, as his bank did not perceive an error in the transaction process.
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