A DISTRAUGHT Wells Fargo customer was left in tears after witnessing her bank account drained by scammers.
Charlotte Stenz shared her painful situation in a TikTok video, where she informed her followers about a scam so they could be aware.
Charlotte Stenz was left in tears after scammers were able to drain her bank account[/caption]
Stenz, who goes by Charlottestenz8, wiped away tears as she recorded the video in July from the parking lot of a Wells Fargo branch.
“I got a call from a Wells Fargo number, saying that I have fraudulent activity on my account and that a random person was being sent money from Zelle,” she began.
Stenz said the staggering amount the alleged person was receiving raised concerns.
“I never used Zelle, so this like freaked me out,” she added.
“They told me to go into my account and that I needed to secure my Zelle on my end by sending money that would go back into my account right after.”
Moments later, Stenz paused and broke down in tears again after realizing how sketchy the scammer’s details were.
“Looking back at it, I literally feel like an old person that fell for a stupid scam, like I feel so dumb,” she said.
“So, I did everything that they said to do, and they literally drained my bank account, and I felt like it was sketchy the whole time, but since it came from a Wells Fargo number, I trusted them.”
Stenz said she immediately went to the closest Wells Fargo branch and informed the employees at the site about her problem.
When she explained the situation to the Wells Fargo employee, the worker took her phone and spoke with the person on the other line.
“I lost my s**t, and I was balling to the poor lady at the desk, I said, ‘I don’t know if this is a scam or not,’” Stenz said.
“I explained the situation, and she took my phone and said something like can you verify your blah, blah, blah, and they hung up.
“At that point, I knew I was absolutely f**ked.”
Stenz said she eventually convinced the employees to sit with her and speak with their fraud department.
The department said they would dispute all the charges and inform her about the outcome in 10 days.
“It’s literally crazy how they’re able to use the same number. It was a Wells Fargo number, their 1800 number, so, I guess, just be aware,” Stenz warned.
It’s unclear if Stenz was ever able to recover the funds.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Stenz and Wells Fargo for comment.
Stenz’s video went viral on TikTok and garnered over three million views.
Several people left useful tips on avoiding being a victim of scammers under Stenz’s video.
“First mistake is banks never call,” one person wrote.
A second TikToker said, “Going forward, always hand up and then call your bank yourself. I’m so sorry this happened.”
“And USPS will never send you a random text about a package with an insufficient address,” another warned.
A fourth person advised, “Always always say, ‘thanks for bringing it to my attention. I’m going to hang up and call the bank back directly at the number on my card.’ If it’s legit, they’ll say ‘that’s a good idea.’”
Bank tips for avoiding scams
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
