A Massachusetts woman says an elaborate imposter scam cost her $9,600 after a caller convinced her she was helping Santander Bank catch an employee stealing money.
The scammers allegedly knew details about her accounts and recent purchases, then moved money between linked accounts to make it appear the bank had issued a temporary credit. She ultimately withdrew the cash and handed it to someone she believed was a bank official.
Now she’s fighting to get the money back as police investigate and experts warn about the red flags consumers should watch for.
Spoofing scams where fraudsters pretend to be from your bank
are getting so good they stole a billion dollars last year.
A former bank employee from Oxford
is now coming forward sharing how it happened to her and how she
is fighting to get her money back so it doesn't happen to you.
Sorry, I just got to pause for a second.
Jessica Metcalf struggles to talk about what happened.
I felt attacked after coming to find out
that they just took advantage of me.
They were imposters spoofing Santander Bank,
where Metcalf once worked and was still a customer.
It started with this bogus text message about
an unauthorized $200 purchase,
then a phone call, and that's what made me think,
oh, maybe this is legit because the fraud team is actually calling me.
The caller knew enough about her accounts
that Metcalf provided a passcode sent to her phone,
even though the very first line said
Santander will never call to request it.
The way they were explaining the situation, it just seemed very legit.
So legit, she even drove to the bank and withdrew $9,600,
money the caller said was added to her account
in an elaborate ruse to catch an employee embezzling.
They told Metcalf to return the money.
Handing it off to someone she thought
was a real bank employee in the parking lot.
When she realized the mistake...
I felt just so embarrassed and stupid and just...
I would tell my client, make sure you're disputing
from the account where the money was initially sent unauthorized.
Attorney Carla Sanchez-Adams is an expert in banking regulations.
She says money you withdraw from an account can be tough to get back.
But under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act,
she says you may be protected if money is moved
from one account to another without your authorization.
If somebody had...
Funds that were in their account that should
not have been there to begin with
because they were stolen, quite frankly, from other accounts,
there is an accountability there.
Metcalf says that's what happened to her.
She learned the $9,600 stolen came
from other accounts connected to hers,
accounts she shared with her fiancé, her mother, and her daughters.
Transfers, she says, the scammers made.
What I'm trying to do is save money for my kids.
Somebody just takes it like that.
Metcalf and her fiancé are now in a battle
with the bank to reinstate the money.
In a letter, Santander told Metcalf
because she completed the transaction,
the claim was accurately denied.
Santander told Boston 25 it could not discuss
the case due to customer privacy,
but does assist police in their investigations.
Webster police tell me they're still trying
to find whoever scammed Metcalf.
One more reason why banking experts say consumers
Need more protections.
There needs to be some kind of change to address
this problem that is devastating our economy.
I feel like the bank should do the right thing and give the money back.
The biggest red flag in Metcalf's case was when
the scammers asked her for that passcodes
into her phone.
They will try to make you think it is urgent
and that you have to act now.
Don't.
Hang up, look up your bank's phone number yourself,
and call that number.
If you have any questions about your accounts.
