Since April, Taylor Trost has been fighting two battles: Fighting her bank to get back the $25,000 she lost to scammers and helping others avoid becoming victims.
“These scammers are so, so good and smart these days,” said Trost, owner of Strong Starts Within.
The Scottsdale small business owner said the trouble started with a text message from someone claiming to be from her bank asking about a wire transfer.
“They asked me if I was trying to do a wire transfer from my business account. I texted the number back and just said no,” she said.
But moments later, Trost said she received a call from a number that showed the name of her bank.
“He basically told me this story of someone had gone into a bank branch in San Antonio, Texas, pretending, to, like basically be an impostor of myself,” she explained.
Trost said the person on the other end of the phone convinced her the person pretending to be her was taken into custody and that she needed to give information to “secure” her account. Trost provided the information and access to her accounts.
Her money was gone in a matter of minutes — $25,000 worth.
After hanging up, she says he felt uneasy and immediately called her mother, who encouraged her to call her bank.
“I’d basically call every single day to find out more information. They were giving me 16 different stories,” Trost says.
For weeks, no one could give Trost a straight answer on where the money was.
Trost said that when she decided to share her story on TikTok, she quickly learned she wasn’t the only person to have fallen victim to the scam.
“I found someone who was also a small business owner who had $25,000 stolen from her too. So I decided to email all the bank executives before finally someone got to me,” she adds.
This week, she received a letter from her bank stating she would receive a refund of $128 and that her case was closed.
“No one really has reached out to me to let me know where that money came from, or what else happened to why the investigation was closed,” Trost says. "I felt an immense amount of like guilt and almost like embarrassment, because it's like you see on the news, like, oh, it's only old people. Like, it's only you know, the elderly people over 60."
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans aged 18-59 make up most fraud cases, but Americans over 70 are more likely to lose the most money in fraud schemes.
In 2023, the FTC said 2.6 million fraud cases were filed in the United States costing Americans $10 billion.
“Cyber criminals have gone away from hacking and have moved more to social engineering attacks,” said Burton Kelso, owner of cyber security firm Integral.
Kelso said cyber criminals use threats that can trigger emotions causing people to react more quickly than to think more reasonably.
He urges people to build up their "human firewalls."
“If you think you need to look at something, call a number but don’t Google it. Go directly to the company’s website,” Kelso said.
He said scammers often produce fake websites with contact information that closely resembles real ones.
“You can use websites like GetHuman.com that will give you direct numbers to real companies to speak to someone,” Kelso said.
Kelso urges people to use caution when providing information, and limit what details you give over the phone.
“If you’re sending money, be aware of cash apps, gift cards, or wire transfers. Those make it difficult to trace your money if fraud is discovered,” Kelso adds.
It’s advice Trost says she wishes she would’ve known before.
Trost said she is slowly starting to come to terms she may not get all of her money back, but she plans to keep fighting as long as she can, while also warning others of the pitfalls.
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