An Atlanta couple says one phone call led to their entire life savings being withdrawn from their JPMorgan Chase bank account.
Gloria and Gary Moss tell FOX 5 they felt safe after Chase blocked a $100 purchase of chocolate months ago, requiring further confirmation for the transaction to go through.
But on Feb. 16, the couple says they received two text messages that appeared to be from Chase’s fraud department, saying one of their payment cards had been compromised.
The texts came from the same six-digit short code as every other alert from Chase’s communications system, so the message appeared legitimate.
Gloria called the number and says she unknowingly spoke to a scammer who appeared professional and asked for a one-time PIN (OTP), which was sent to her phone via text message, claiming it was needed to cancel her card.
Gloria confirmed the OTP code, which gave the criminal the power to drain the couple’s savings – about $49,000 – in about 20 minutes, while they distracted her on the phone.
The Mosses say the mass transfer was made without any further contact, verification or concern from Chase, and the money was transferred via wire transfer to Wells Fargo – which could only refund about $700 to the couple.
In a letter, Chase defended its security systems and refused to refund the bill, stating that the bank had called the Mosses and that someone who answered the phone had verified that the wire was valid.
Local police say they are now investigating the incident and investigating whether anyone was able to gain control of Gloria’s cell phone.
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