SURPRISE, Ariz. — A Valley woman is warning others of a scam that drained nearly $20,000 from her savings account.
Joan Salcido of Surprise fell victim to an imposter scam. A scammer pretending to be Wells Fargo Bank sent her a text message described as a fraud alert.
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The message asked if Salcido spent $266 on a plane ticket. When she responded no, she said the scammer called her with a spoof Wells Fargo phone number.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Mujer del valle fue estafada con $20,000 y advierte a otros para que estén atentos
“It just seemed really smooth and rhythmic," Salcido said.
The scammer made it clear the only way for Salcido to protect her money was to wire it to a separate account and wire it back the next day.
Experts said someone asking to wire money is a red flag, and Salcido thought so.
"I'm going what’s happening and why again would I do this?" Salcido said. "(He said) this is just the way we’re doing it now."
Salcido said the cunning scammer had clever responses to all her concerns.
"It was convincing," Salcido said.
Salcido said the scammer never asked for personal information and didn't pressure her to act fast.
“The way they walked me through it and told me exactly how you would do it. I’m thinking they’re already in my account. Of course, until I hung up the phone and thinking no they weren’t in it, they were just showing me how to do it on my end," Salcido said.
Experts said scams are constantly evolving to find new, vulnerable ways to steal money from people.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said to never move money to protect it and to never share verification codes.
The FTC said banks and investment funds most likely can't get stolen funds back from imposter scammers.
Wells Fargo said many scammers work aggressively and entice victims to act quickly. The bank said they wouldn't pressure customers into doing anything right away.
Salcido said she has filed claims with Wells Fargo and police reports in hopes of getting her money back.
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