Life After Being scammed- My story is not necessarily about being scammed, it is about the nightmare after the scam. I have gone through months of torturous waiting, and feeling like I will never be the same again!
You might expect that the bank will help you, as you should be covered by their insurance covering stolen funds, but think again. I was a victim of an online scam - the scammer took remote control of my laptop and initiated wire transfers that drained my life savings. I reported this to my bank of almost 30 years (Chase) and was panic stricken and in shock. I followed their directions and supplied the police report and confirmation report from a computer store confirming I was definitely hacked and my laptop had been taken over remotely. Chase told me they would forward claim to the FDIC to escalate the claim but they never did. I waited 3 weeks (as per their instructions) and this delayed me from contacting any other agency for help. After waiting for the claim to be processed, I was told they denied my claim because I did the wire transfers, which is not true and confirmed by computer company that I had no control of my laptop. To this day they have denied my claim and have refused to negotiate for liability and have refused to credit my life savings back into my account.
I have consulted with lawyers for advice and have followed their suggestions. I put in a complaint to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency. This agency regulates the bank and they have a group that communicates with the bank and tries to negotiate a resolution. After Chase denied my claim I put in a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They contacted Chase and again with no explanation other than saying I initiated the transfers, the bank denied the claim. I was going crazy trying to figure out what to do, because I was being treated so terribly. I put in complaints to the attorney general, to the department of finances, and to the federal reserve. They forwarded my issue to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and as they were the same complaint I already made, the bank just denied again. I complained to the elder fraud division of the FBI and they add the complaint to their databases for possible help in the future. I complained to the district attorney’s office and that went to Computer Crimes and Financial Fraud Dept. I contacted those departments and the detective told me honestly it basically stops there, because the FBI doesn’t get involved unless the amount stolen was around a million dollars. My money was gone and there didn’t seem to be any more they would be able to do. I called my congressman’s office (Lee Zeldin) and explained what happened and could I get their help in any way. They told me that the FBI only gets involved if the amount was over 500,000 dollars. So no help there….it appears then that you can get help if you are wealthy and your money gets stolen, but for the rest of us we don’t get help and we have to fight for ourselves!
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I am so disheartened by the way I have been treated and want people to know that banks are taking advantage of people who have been victims of scams – just because they can! I provided proof that I did not initiate the wire transfers but the bank is just deciding not to approve my claim. Banks have private insurance that covers stolen funds (like mine) and I should be covered even if there is a question of liability. They have not even tried to negotiate anything regarding my claim.
The banks are not willing to do what is right and they seem to be the only recourse in getting help and they are not helping! I have even considered contacting one of these online funds recovery companies but after much discussion and thought I decided not to– but you can’t imagine the desperation you are in when this happens to you! My story is meant to tell people to be careful of every aspect of reporting your scam to your bank. Try every option available and keep pressuring the banks to see the nightmare that their customers go through and start helping to protect them. Thank you for listening and maybe the banks will actually do what’s right and stop denying people who have had this life-altering nightmare..
