As a bank customer, you generally have an expectation that employees of said bank won’t share your personal or account information with someone that isn’t, in fact, you. But what happens when a person calls the bank claiming to be an account holder in the midst of an emergency and in need of quick cash? Federal prosecutors say that was the basis for a recent bank fraud scheme targeting Wells Fargo customers and employees.
WSOC-TV reports (warning: video autoplays) that a 37-year-old North Carolina man was arrested for his part in a ruse that pilfered funds from unsuspecting customers’ accounts by appealing to employees’ compassionate side.
Investigators say the scheme began when the man and others obtained the personal information of Wells Fargo customers, most likely though employees of the bank.
Once the personal information was in hand, the ne’er-do-wells allegedly called Wells Fargo tellers and employees claiming to be the customer in need of cash for an emergency situation, WSOC reports.
According to prosecutors, the scheme perpetrators would then send friends and relatives to the bank to complete the transaction on their behalf.
A Wells Fargo representative tells WSOC that any customers who were affected by the scheme are covered by the bank. However, the company declined to comment on how many customers were affected and the severity of the fraud.
Prosecutors say this isn’t the first time the man has been involved in a scheme to defraud bank employees.
Back in 2011, a federal judge sentenced the man to three years in prison for defrauding Bank of America and Wachovia Bank. In that case, prosecutors say the he offered tellers private plane trips and chances to socialize with famous athletes in exchange for cash, WSOC reports.
Man charged with ‘corrupting’ Wells Fargo employees in fraud scheme [WSOC-TV]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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