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A California woman is speaking out after she was the victim of a scammer who pretended to work for her bank. Lisa Landry told WGO that she was selling novelties at the Cal Expo Winter Wonderland and was using Zelle to collect money from her customers.
While Landry was working, she received a call that she thought was from her bank. The person told her that somebody was trying to take money from her account.
"I thought, 'Oh my god, one of these customers must've accessed my account, we're on an open WiFi'... this could be happening, easily," she told the news station.
"I said to the guy, 'How do I know you're really the bank?' He goes, 'Check the caller ID, isn't that the number on the back of your debit card?' It was, it matched. So I kept talking to this person," Landry explained.
The man on the phone told her to send herself the money so she wouldn't lose her funds. While she received confirmation that the funds had been sent, they never showed up in her bank account. She was still on the phone with the scammer when she realized she had been victimized.
"And the guy knew that I knew, and he clowned me. He taunted me," she said. "I was like, 'You think this is funny. Now, this is hilarious to you? You take my $3,500 and pound it in your...,' and I hung up."
Landry contacted her bank but was told that there was nothing they could do because she authorized the transaction, and Zelle does not have fraud protections.
According to WSB, scammers have victimized over 18 million Americans using payment apps like Zelle and Venmo. Zelle told the news station they are aware of the growing number of scams and advised customers to be cautious. The company said it does not offer fraud protection or refunds because it is a third-party money-transferring service and does not hold any money.
Zelle said that anybody who is the victim of a scam should contact their bank to resolve the issue.