Life Savings Wiped Out in Seconds Due To 1 Simple Mistake

[@kyliedecarter298]

This scams is becoming more sophisticated, do not consider yourself stupid as i really admire your courage to speak out, this could literally happen to anyone this is why we need more awareness together online with the much help from Universal dispute , i was also victimized recently, i am one of the many you have brought out of bottom *UNIVERSAL DISPUTE !*

[@herrickinman9303]

No, it can't "literally" happen to anyone. You're misusing the word.

[@Dividendflywheel]

1. Block wire transfer and electronic transfer from your account. 2. Insist that all transfer’s MUST be to the checking account linked to your investment account 3. Insist on two step authentication 4. Insist on verbal pass words before funds can be transferred out of your account

[@robertpsotka3525]

Thought you couldn't wire money unless you are there in person

[@google_is_a_criminal]

@@robertpsotka3525 That was perhaps true forty years ago, but now you can easily do it from a phone or a pc or even just a phone call.

[@Jen-ur4ut]

No bank is going to implement these safeguards unless they already offer them just because you insist.

[@kilnmaster]

I've done that already

[@user-bg9em7ch6k]

@@robertpsotka3525 not true

[@Ron-py7rt]

Thank you. I got scammed for $60k last week & am still traumatized from it. I've owned businesses & consider myself fairly sharp, but am now 70 years old & probably not as sharp/smart as I used to be. You are correct about the scammers' techniques. Thank you for warning others.

[@anotherperspective6247]

Never, ever trust an inbound call from any financial institution.

[@geofractal]

Never!

[@jean-marcfiliatrault266]

@@profribasmat217Furthermore, do not respond to any email or text message to do anything. If your financial institution or insurance company or credit card or whatever wants to talk to you, that’s fine. Just take the name down and his/her phone number. Then, call the 1-800 number for your financial institution or insurance company, etc., for example, and ask to talk to so and so. You will know if that person really exists and if s/he is legit…

[@CoolHandLuke01]

@@profribasmat217no. Don’t answer.

[@CoolHandLuke01]

All calls not known roll to voicemail. The power of voicemail.

[@laurac56]

Make sure the first call has been ended for real. Try making a different call first or use another phone to call the number you know is real. The scammer call may not be really disconnected.

[@kerrybyers257]

Keep all your banks fraud hotline numbers in your contacts. Don’t answer the calls, texts, or emails but DO call the bank’s fraud number. Period.

[@ZaideZaide770]

Pro tip....Thanks.

[@timbmd]

" call the bank’s fraud number"? You are NOT supposed to call that number! Call the bank # from the back of your debit or credit card.

[@northernbohemianrealist]

Yes! I would go a step further, call the real institution, share the scam, and tell them to shut down all access to the account. (If you have only one financial institution, look in the mirror to see the fool.)

[@google_is_a_criminal]

I always answer my phone, otherwise there's no point in having one at all. I can trust EVERY call I receive because I immediately ask for a number to call them back at. It isn't difficult to verify legitimacy, but it IS 100% your own responsibility to. Taking the ability to trust away from yourself and giving it to someone else is never a good thing, and good people never encourage you to do it.

[@ZidaneSteiner]

You should call them! Don't answer unsolicited calls

[@rhodastephens-yoder5693]

I received a call from Schwab, which is where my husband and I have our retirement accounts. After speaking to someone for a little while. I stopped talking to him and then called the number from the internet (which turned out to be the identical phone number) for Schwab. I spoke to the Fraud Department. I was told that no one was trying to access our accounts. I immediately had them put a freeze on all of our accounts. Good thing. Someone tried to run a wire transfer for $86,520. Because of the freeze, it was denied. Thank heavens. Be careful out there.

[@blujeans9462]

You were lucky. You'd be amazed how many fraudulent numbers for a financial institution comes up when you do a Google search.

[@AccidentalCarnivore-ul3kg]

@rhodastephens-yoder5693: Sounds like it might have been an inside job.🤔

[@johng4093]

Phone scammers can "spoof" a different caller ID than their actual number. Almost never will a financial institution call you directly, don't give them any sensitive info. Call the official number to enquire.

[@Dee-ty9ny]

How did they initiate running the wire? Via online, or over the phone with Schwab?

[@TheSmallRabbit]

Scammers can spoof the Caller ID and present as the ID anything they want. Caller ID is not a secure system.

[@HighCountryRambler]

If I don't recognize the number it goes to VM. If they say I'm from XYZ, I hangup and call XYZ. I appreciate these videos, so many people in their late years have no clue how ruthless the world can be.

[@thebes118]

Exactly!

[@DugrozReports]

The video said it was a "younger couple" in this case.

[@petepeterson5337]

Even if you DO recognize the number and pick up, be aware it may be a “spoofed “ number which is very easy to do. A friend’s wife was contacted by scammers using my friend’s cell phone number, claiming to have kidnapped my friend with instructions to save her husband. Fortunately she called the number back to assure them she was complying, and after a few attempts my friend who was in a high level company meeting answered because multiple times of her trying to call probably meant something important. If I receive a hostage call, I will most likely involve authorities against the caller’s specific instructions.

[@greymatters7039]

Exactly what I did. That lady called me pretending to be panicked about fraud on my account. I calmly told her, “Okay. I’ll call my bank.” She deflated. 😂

[@mikes-wv3em]

@@greymatters7039 did they sound indian? lol

[@TechnoRiff]

Right on; very relevant advice. We don't answer the phone or doorbell when the number is not recognized, or when someone is not expected or recognized on our front camera. It's sad that there are so many malicious scammers these days that prey on the kindness and trust of innocent folks. No need to be so open or polite when so much is at stakes these days!

[@shep68]

I’m a US Customs officer. I take multiple calls a week from people inquiring about a call they recvd from someone claiming to be from my agency requesting money to clear up a warrant or pay duty or some other fee. Some people have already sent money; others did the right thing calling us first. It’s always a scam. Unless you personally know the person on the other end…it’s a scam.

[@ShaferHart]

People impersonate others over the phone all the time. Call quality varies so people have a natural tolerance for people sounding different. Do what the institution recommends and call them directly. Don't trust anyone over the phone.

[@dennisd9554]

Know someone who had two "IRS" agents show up to her door saying she owed back taxes and escorted her to the bank to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars.

[@jamesdep8128]

A US Customs Officer? The US Customs Service does not exist. Come on guy, don’t scam us. Just chill there Mr Google

[@camgere]

I got a text saying that my package failed to clear customs, and I needed to go to a website. I don't think Amazon gives out phone numbers to venders. I ignored the message and didn't miss any packages.

[@jewelmarkess]

@@jamesdep8128 You are kidding, right? There is the US Customs and Border Protection federal agency. Ever heard of it? @shep68 may work there. Even if (s)he doesn't, the advice is sound.

[@NubianQueen6391]

There are so many scams it is getting harder and harder not to fall victim. It's hard for me to trust anyone!

[@profribasmat217]

Not really, hang up, call the number on your card or statement

[@TheSmallRabbit]

The safest thing is to call back a number you know is secure and you have used before.

[@rschier1]

Not hard at all. Don't speak to anyone whom you are far from sure you're speaking with.

[@briandeschene8424]

Always be the one to initiate any phone call. You call the business in question using a phone number from your card or statement. That way you are in charge and maintain control of the interaction.

[@fnhc2023]

At gas stations now too

[@RM-lv9ng]

You never ever give information to someone who calls you!

[@soliniv1411]

Ok ok but how do you teach this to millions of people?

[@j.l.salayao8055]

Oh, I did! Someone was just asking what day and year it was.

[@tatianadelachutedeau379]

My medical group calls and asks for personal info in order to « verify my identity ». Makes you wonder if they are smart enough to practice medicine. Nobody honest should call you and ask or personal info. That should be left to scammers. Incoming calls with requests for personal info are from the bad guys.

[@DanIngham]

Barclays Bank UK call me related to fraud. They literally call me and start asking for my name and details to confirm it’s me and I am like ‘how do I know you are the legit Barclays Bank’ And this is actually the legit method they use for fraud checks.

[@rajg4512]

@@j.l.salayao8055You don’t need to answer even stupid questions that’s waste of time equal money 😂

[@loukramer152]

It seems so easy for scammers to steal our money, yet whenever there is a legitimate transaction to wire money overseas etc. it is such a big hassle. We have AML (anti-money laundering), KYC (know your customer) regulations which create a hassle for banks and their customers, yet for some reason a rip-off cannot be blocked or reversed by the system - we have a system designed by the criminals that works very well for criminals.

[@flowerNspice-24]

You are so spot on. We only notice the lowly criminals and miss the ones heading the whole operation. They will all give an account some day.

[@cannotbeshaken7889]

How did the scammer take their money just from knowing the phone code? Didn't they also have to know their password?

[@jaxjaxvang4910]

Charles Schwab never call, unless I call them, even my financial guy! Thanks so much for the valuable info🙏💞

[@lontr9771]

I got a call recently from Charles Schwab just to thank me for opening a brokerage account and if I had any questions. I did have a question and they helped me locate an area of the website I was looking for.

[@ok2tmtsg]

I am new to Schwab (got transferred to Schwab about a year ago). I periodically get calls from the "financial consultant" Schwab designated to my account, who wanted to "introduce" himself to customer (me) - not sure if this is legit???

[@rhodastephens-yoder3844]

@@ok2tmtsg In your online login to your accounts, under messages you should be able to contact your consultant. Send them an email and then contact / call them. After what I went through, I will always call them back. The number that initially contacted me was displayed as the very same number that I called to place the freeze on all of our accounts.

[@leawilliams8476]

Just the name of the bank would cause me to be suspicious.

[@terrymcclure6592]

I have a Schwab account and I often get calls from Schwab. They do call their customers

[@mikhailkalashnikov4599]

How do you keep digital assets safe in an environment where your govt can't even keep your SSN, DOB, address, passwords, etc safe? This digital house of cards is teetering on the edge of disaster.

[@mypeeps333]

You can't so Stop going Digital. You won't even get a penny if the grid goes down. And it will 🤣🤣🤣😅😅😅

[@annawell2517]

@@mypeeps333so true 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@os2958]

@@mypeeps333 so many places force it

[@solarforfuture]

off line usb wallet.. lap top. 12 word security. if country/world grid is gone we will have other issues as well? loss of waitresses! OMG

[@rhodastephens-yoder3844]

Go to the three credit reporting agencies and FREEZE your accounts. Also. go to every account that you may have and place multiple security devices on them.

[@scarbo2229]

How refreshing to see a video where the speaker talks naturally, without constant edits.

[@aktchungrabanio6467]

Right????

[@Nemo-yn1sp]

Very sad. Almost got caught in an Amazon phone scam, but when the caller wanted all my account balances to transfer and protect them AND used words strangely, I started asking different questions and he hung up. Close. Good lesson.

[@dennisd9554]

You really need to do a deep dive into scams. There are TONS of videos here on KZbin. The fact that you got that far means you are likely to get hit by another one that is even more sophisticated. They are pros at what they do and many of them you won't even suspect its a scam until too late. A good rule of thumb is to ask for a reference number, hang up, look up the number from a legitimate source, then call back.

[@Nemo-yn1sp]

@@dennisd9554 It was a first and I learned. I'm a solo senior woman and scam is the name of the game here in FL. It's usually in person.

[@blue-vu1ek]

Lots of Amazon scammers in India. Amazon uses call centers in India, so few people question when someone obviously east Indian calls and claims to be Amazon.

[@Dbb27]

Shred your mail!! My son was up at four in the morning and saw a guy going through garbage that had been put out for collection. There are people who go through garbage and sell your information!!! SHRED ALL MAIL

[@hogroamer260]

Story out just last week, ALL of our names, Social Security numbers, addresses, etc. Have been hacked and published on the dark web. Everyone should have all three credit reporting agencies freeze their credit.

[@ShaferHart]

Yep, it is low tech but it's one of the best things people can do to protect themselves especially in the US which is so snail mail centric. Most people leak so much private information in the thrash that they're not even aware of. A small shredder is like $50 or less and offers so much protection. Be vigilant about what information you leak via your thrash especially if you live in an apartment complex. I've seen so many irregularities personally that I've had to report like people working for the apt complex going through the garbage. It's ridiculous.

[@kws5354]

My wife and I have been shredding everything for years. A habit I picked up from when I was in the navy

[@tranger4579]

Years back I before heading out to work in the morning I would see my trash bin tipped over and trash all over the curb. I would get upset and pick it up thinking it was animals making the mess. I decided to leave it on the yard and take the bin out to the curb before going to work instead of leaving it out at night. Woke up and looked out the window and trash was all over the yard so after that I decided to bungee cord the lid and still to no avail. So my wife suggested to leave it the the back yard and take it out in the morning. No issues after that. Then one morning a detective came up and asked if I had seen two people a man and woman going through trash and mailboxes.

[@luannehorne697]

They go through mailboxes for info. Drop your mail INSIDE the PO.

[@dklauf]

Their first thought was the correct one. Ignore the calls. Stay on vacation.

[@rhodastephens-yoder3844]

If I had done that, ignore the calls, I might have missed the attempt to add 93 "authorized users" to my credit cards.

[@google_is_a_criminal]

@@rhodastephens-yoder3844 Shhhhhh ! Look at all the "likes" his comment got ! All those people EAGER to get scammed !

[@patallenhurst3043]

The banks make it too easy for scammers to use wire transfers. Laws need to be passed to protect consumers such has putting a 24 hour hold on wire transfers. Also allowing the customer to restrict wire transfers on their accounts.

[@realismatitsfinest1]

Thankfully this would never happen in Canada where all the banks take a very proactive stance ... despite what the people in this video did, here in Canada, they would have been fully protected. All the banks in Canada (there are 6 of them) are much bigger and have a national presence (not the USA where they're more localized). As such, they're bigger with more resources and bigger clout with regards to getting the police involved so it's easier for them to eventually find the perpetrator. But as I say, in the USA, where banks are localized, they may not have that ability. However, banks like Bank of America should be more like banks in Canada and represent their clientele better.

[@dennisd9554]

Credit card companies are VERY proactive about preventing fraud. You know why? Because they're on the hook for paying for anything stolen, not the customer. If the government required the banks to do the same, you'd see HUGE anti-fraud changes and they would suddenly be very concerned about stopping it.

[@kamalsaili]

I know of someone who got scammed in Canada , scammers are getting smarter but why is govt not going after them is beyond me!

[@RayH-]

Banks don't call and tell you a transaction is going to go through unless you stop it. Banks call and tell you that the transaction has been blocked and ask if you initiated the transaction. Then they tell you you will need to nake the transaction a second time and then they will allow it to go through.

[@GeorgeKennedy-u4r]

Unfortunately the world has become one big shit hole.

[@LearnGrowHealThrive]

No, it's always been one big shit hole, but now the world is connected online, and that makes the fraud a lot easier than it ever was before.

[@Rubicon1]

One drop of water fell on an ant and he thought the world was flooded.

[@tcc447]

More can be done to prevent this: a) do not allow money to be wired to a 3rd party account; b) do not allow instantaneous wire transfers; c) call their valued customer to confirm the wire request is valid; and d) limit an initial wire transfer to 10%-20% of the total account value to ensure an account cannot be wiped out with one transaction

[@Roamey71]

Azul, why is spoofing a phone number even allowed! Can’t this fraudulent process be stopped by all the phone companies? How does spoofing even happen? I can’t believe in this day and age, that spoofing can’t be stopped.

[@DennisReyes-n6e]

I completely agree. How come spoofing is even possible? I think victims should consider sue-ing the phone companies for permitting spoofing. Is there any class action lawsuit law firm out there who can organize such a lawsuit? Gather many cases where spoofing played a major part in the scam, and then sue the phone companies for it. I bet you spoofing will end very quickly.

[@iluvusa48197]

Excellent point.

[@God.Almighty]

there are legit reasons behind it. for example, with today's dispersed and wfh workforce, company representatives may call clients from all kinds of phone numbers, but companies only want to show their main number. same with letters. you can send a letter with a different return address than your own or no return address and that can be useful in many cases.

[@LearnGrowHealThrive]

@@God.Almighty They can EASILY BLOCK their numbers, they don't need to show their numbers at all. Period. This is costing BILLIONS all over the world. It is a global problem.

[@flagmichael]

It isn't allowed, it is just not something that can be identified and controlled... much like armed robbery.

[@Misaka-gt5yj]

Unless you suspect insider job, literally just call the actual Schwab line yourself to avoid this whole hassle.

[@tommy65021]

The way to solve this, is to not allow funds to be transferred out of an online account. Why do they make it so easy to WIRE funds out of an account. This is really DUMB. Make it so if someone logs into your account there is no value there, because they cannot do anything!!! Banks should allow the ability to WIRE money out to be disabled. We should have the option to disable this feature especially if you have your life savings there.

[@masterofnone2705]

Rule 1: Don't get scammed. You go shopping to get your needs and seller do not interrupt you to fill your needs. Don't answer strange calls unless you are expecting a call. If you think the call is strange, do not share any personal info.

[@stevefarris9433]

My old fashioned answering machine does the initial block. if they do not leave a message I erase the call. If they do leave a message and phone number I look up their number. If I can't prove they are who they say I erase it. if they leave the name of a company I call that companies number, not the one that they leave. At 87 I learned long ago that scammers do not have human values. Almost as bad as democraps at election time.

[@9liveslisa]

Never answer phone calls that you don't know who they are. If it is that important, they will leave a voicemail. Also if you are contacted by who you think is your bank or financial advisors, don't pick up the phone, or answer a text or email. Call the institution directly with a known phone number instead and discuss the situation with them. Chances are the people reaching out to you are scammers.

[@gstlb]

Yes! I had to look at who wrote this to make sure it wasn’t me 😂

[@scottneusen9601]

Also if a text message says, 'We will never ask you for this information.' Then don't tell anyone that information.

[@GeneralSirDouglasMcA]

If they ask a question, don’t respond with “yes”. They can record your voice .

[@glasshalffull2930]

Financial fraud investigator for almost 25 years and I assume every contact (phone, text, email) is probably a scam and almost all of them turn out to be scams.

[@sbkscuify]

As for the comment about not picking up form people you don’t know, that is not what happened here. It was multiple calls from “Charles Schwab”. And when you answer they hook you with the pretend “we need to prevent a wire fraud”. I’d say to pick up the phone if the caller id looks legit. But once you hear what it is about, ask to call back. All legit agents are trained for this question and will NOT complain about it. They know exactly why you are wanting to do it.

[@cayankeelord3730]

Many financial institutions have the option of "locking down" access to your accounts online. Yeah, it's a hassle to get it unlocked later, but if we're talking about your life savings, it's well worth it! Just a phone call away.

[@dennisl4000]

Never give any sensitive information to an in coming call. Call back on a known number, period.

[@tzm1843]

No information at all!

[@bratzdol]

This video is GOLD spot on. Another protection I would add is to have your savings and investments spread across multiple banks/brokerages/credit unions so if any one account is compromised you lose only that account, not all life savings.

[@dennisd9554]

Amen!

[@voiceofraisin241]

Exactly. The saying goes. Don’t keep all of your eggs in one basket.

[@getplaning]

A security consultant gave a presentation at an event put on by my wife's financial advisor. He said that 10 years ago, half of all internet traffic was porn. Today, 80% of all internet traffic is fraud, scams, and bots, trying to steal money or information.

[@goodbyspam]

So porn is down to 20%?

[@getplaning]

@@goodbyspam Since I gave up watching it, yeah

[@rememberdavid9329]

Very important topic to cover Azul. Thank you!

[@w.harrison7277]

I agree with Schwab's position. If you give your password to someone why should it be Schwab's fault? A verification code is also a password, that's all it is. Its like handing out keys to your car in public and then expecting your car insurance to cover the theft of your car. If you receive a security threat warning NEVER click any links in a text or email or call any phone numbers given by the security warning itself. That's the oldest scam in the book. If you click that link it will likely show the normal login page but its a hoax: As you type in your username and password you're giving it to the thieves who will empty your account before you realize what happened.

[@noconsentgiven]

Because they got the info from somewhere. And there are a number of protocols these banks can implement to make it all but impossible to stop alot of this crap.

[@tonelocrian]

The trick is to always do an independent call with a direct contact with your bank.. And DON'T answer scam callers. or any UNKNOWN numbers. Set up your fone to ONLY ring for known numbers. Stay SAFE.

[@scottiswatchingtele]

This is such a great reminder. Be very aware of text messages. They aren’t as pretty and easy to detect. I got one today from the bank. Something told me to check. It was smishing. Never ever ever tap a phone number in a text message from a phone message. I had a moment of clarity but could’ve been fooled. I use a separate number for banking so if I get a text at a different number it’s a red flag. After watching this video I’m getting scared I’ll screw up. Need another method.

[@keithbrenda8713]

These thieves need to be caught and dealt with severely. Someone knows who they are.

[@bjb7587]

Usually Eastern Europe or certain African countries. In both cases, countries unfriendly to the West. Case closed.

[@StevenDietrich-k2w]

If you didn't initiate the phone conversation always be suspicious that it could be a scam. I had a call from someone claiming to be from Vanguard, and it was a call that I hadn't expected. I told the caller to call me back in 30 minutes as I was busy with something and couldn't talk (I wasn't). After hanging up I called Vanguard on a number that I knew to be true and spoke with a representative. He said that they were calling people with a certain type of account, which I had, and that it was a legitimate call. I talked to the first guy when he called back at the agreed upon time. Better safe than sorry.

[@p.m.8316]

U sure it wasn't Klaus Schwab

[@elaineateoate1020]

LOL

[@anthonys7534]

😂😂

[@brucesmith9144]

That’s one way to own nothing.

[@bjb7587]

Santa Klaus?

[@jcombs5495]

Or an inside job.

[@Sanjay9442]

The issue with US banking system is making these electronic transactions one way. There should be a law required all electronic transactions to be reversible

[@winstonlee7258]

good point! banks and regulatory bodies that make the rules can easily set up a system of a mandatory delay before wire completion to give time for truly fraudulent transactions to be contested and justifiably revoked. It should be easy to do with today's technology.

[@user-uv4mg4ve9p]

Anyone calling you claiming to be with a company you do business with could be a scammer pretending to be with that company. Hang up and call the company yourself to determine if legitimate.

[@chuck_in_socal]

My response would be...I have concerns about fraud. Therefore I can't provide you any information. I'm not authorizing any transfers. If necessary, lock down my account and I'll come in to your office.

[@jeff8ball]

Thanks for the heads up. If I get a call from a number not in my contacts, I never!!! answer it. Most times they do not leave a voice message, so I know its not important. And always verify the phone number by looking it up and never call back on the number you received the call on.

[@Connie-Medeiros]

Problem is, spoofed number may match the one in your contacts. So not even that is safe.

[@tubulardude44]

Also freeze your credit at all 3 bureaus. It’s easy to do. IF you ever need to apply for a loan or a credit card, you can “thaw” your credit for the time necessary to get approval.

[@DJ-ik7bs]

I always ignore those calls , if in doubt go without. Or call your bank/accountant and check before answering a random call.

[@fredfolson5355]

My kids know not to open the door when people knock. I was in the garage detailing my car once when I noticed some door-to-door salesman walking up to waste my time; I reached up, pushed the button to close the garage door right in their face. My daughter said "DAD! You just closed the door on them!" I said "So. So what! This is my house, and my time and I don't feel like being bothered right now." She learned a great lesson that day to take control of your life and your time.

[@BlessedBeMyDay]

I live in HOA condo. Bug man comes to door to say going to spray today. Ok fine never told me before though but ok. Then he asked if I needed him to spray inside which also covered by HOA. Nope alls fine . I knew he was up to no good right then , hoa not doing inside my house for free. I called my HOA to tell them what was going around .

[@butchjohnson3953]

😂😂

[@cashflow68]

I have a sign on my doorbell that says "Deliveries Only" Otherwise, DO NOT Disturb.

[@Supernumerary]

A savy person can detect foreign accents and can identify the ethnicity of a person by their accent. Even a very mild accent. Identifying ethnicity is one aspect of security, identifying friend/foe.

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

We live in a multi-ethnic society so that doesn’t seem like it would be very helpful. Heck, the banks are starting to outsource their fraud centers to other countries now so even when you call them the accents are going to be all over the map.

[@sunlite9759]

I constantly get texts or e-mails from USPS or equivalent claiming they can't deliver a package. Don't answer. Think?

[@sunlite9759]

I do to. Don't answer any calls or texts when you don't recognize the sender.

[@gregohare2406]

IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE PERSON KNOCKING, JUST SPEEK THROUGH THE DOOR THAT YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED! Not answering the door when someone knocks is not a good idea. They may be knocking to see if someone is home before they break in. If it is someone we don’t recognize we don’t open the door but say we are not interested. This way they know we are home but they are denied entry. This happened to us. We didn’t answer the door and a few minutes later found them trying to pry open our back door. When they saw us inside they took off.

[@ravendixon1099]

However by answering your phone the scammers know it's a good number. Check your VM & block the number.

[@ronnythompson9115]

Wire transfers should be disabled by default. It should take a letter in the mail or a walk in to enabled wired transfers.

[@aliannarodriguez1581]

100%!

[@ronnythompson9115]

@@aliannarodriguez1581 WIre transfer should never be enabled by default. That sounds like a law suite on its own.

[@43Danc]

Scary. Your advice was exactly what I was thinking. Call the bank and verify.

[@erniekeller1093]

This is phenomenally stupid. If you get a call from "Schwab", YOU CALL SCHWAB!

[@gracewright7938]

Anyone, call the phone number on the back of your card.

[@beerbrewer7372]

@@gracewright7938 What card?

[@majorlagg9321]

I got a text from "Capital One" asking if I made a purchase for $549 at an Apple store (as though the Apple store sells anything that cheap). I pressed no and it asked for my account login. I then called Capital One using the number on their website and was told they didn't send any alert.

[@johnsode17]

“But they said they were from Charles Schwab. Why would they lie?” What other reason would someone trust the caller on the other line? I hope people know by now that phone calls can be spoofed to look like they are calling from the company they are claiming to be a representative. To Azul’s point (and others who have said it), don’t say anything, just hang up and call the known hotline numbers. Have those numbers on your contact list ahead of time so you aren’t scrambling when the time comes. I would go so far as to not even answer the phone if callerid is showing Charles Schwab. I don’t want to sound too paranoid but now the bad guys are recording your voice when you speak and based off pronunciation of a small number of words, they can synthesize anyone’s voice. This can be used several ways. Some use that to convince the caller that they’ve been kidnapped. It can also be used to wire money because they lost their wallet and need money to get back home. To prepare for such an event - establish a safe word or phrase to use that only the two of you know to establish identity. Do not use things like Date of Birth and other discoverable pieces of data.

[@secretagent86]

Big price to pay for a mistake

[@bibleaday154]

This happened to my dad one month ago, with Charles Schwab. They told him his account was locked and he gave them the information.

[@LimWeeChoon]

Thank you for the advice. One thing which i find very valuable is take some time to think rather than act immediately when when we are under pressure or being pressured.

[@RayH-]

Use the account verification banks use on the caller. What is my account number.? What is my balance? What is the date, amount and payee of my last transaction. The Bank will know this information.

[@yujie1973]

Yes, the bank knows the info. but they will not tell you. What if you are not the account owner but someone happens to pick up the call like family, friends or even stranger? The bank uses those info. to verify you, not the other way around.

[@olasek7972]

just ask them for their name and number to call back, very simple.

[@mikeyis009]

Everything is a scam. I tell everyone this.

[@sport07-o2l]

You’re right

[@jeffreyscott5799]

Time to stop all American tax payer Aid to those countries that have spam call centers!

[@LearnGrowHealThrive]

Oh good freakin' god, from one American to another, go find a university and enroll in it. Fraud calls happen in the US just as frequently as they do at scam centers outside the US. smh

[@samlipsit517]

My phone voicemail is set to the old 3 tone “ the number you have dialing has been disconnected “member that ? Works every time !

[@bills1995vette]

How does the ID show up as Charles Schwab. AT&T should be liable.

[@vince8436]

Technology, scammers can do a lot.

[@alanj9978]

The phone system is over a hundred years old. Caller ID is set by the call's originator.

[@anotherperspective6247]

Its called Caller ID spoofing and its more common than you think.

[@alanj9978]

@@anotherperspective6247 Oh, I know. The caller can set whatever they want if they have a business line.

[@vince8436]

@@anotherperspective6247 very very common

[@andyny29]

Let the call go to voicemail! The scammers will not usually leave a message! Call your bank directly!

[@StevenDonald2]

Its worse here, our economy is like a flailing fish, fighting for its life. The normal state of the U.S. economy is actually very bad. Because of this it goes into convulsive spasms fighting to grow any way it can out of desperation. Tricks, gimmicks, rule changes try to stimulate the economy and prevent it from falling but they only bring temporary relief to people since, when you factor in inflation we are declining.

[@ontheroad5555]

It's not worse here. I saw an expert two nights ago on tv he said the US is doing way better economy wise than other countries. We had a better turn around for jobs after the pandemic. We finally got inflation low to where the Federal Reserve will soon be able to cut interest rates to allow for more borrowing and potentially buying more homes and other goods.

[@MoreLifePlease]

​@ElizabethMaria9I agree. It's a shame so many people seem never to have been made aware of this fact of life in the 21st century United States.

[@MoreLifePlease]

​@JENNIFERSONIA8The advice I've seen from Warren Buffett, the late Jack Bogle and others is that, if you have no particular investing chops, like me, it's best to put your money into index funds. A popular one is index funds tracking the S&P 500, but there are others. A major benefit of these is low or even no fees. These can seriously eat into actively managed investments. Growth tends to be slow but pretty steady, though you'd still be hurt by such things as the 2008-09 and 2020-21 pandemic crashes, so you should be ready for that possibility. Good luck.

[@twostate7822]

Unemployment is running between 3 and 4%, near historical lows. The stock market is booming, and corporate profits are at record highs. Are we better off than 4 years ago? Lets see, 4 years ago under Trump unemployment was in double digits, the stock market crashed, there was shortages of many goods like toilet paper, millions of people lost their apartments because they couldn't pay the rent. Yes, those were the good times, right???

[@TLA123y6f]

@JENNIFERSONIA8 You're scamming people on a podcast that's about trying to protect yourself from NOT getting scammed??? OMG. There WILL be a day of reckoning for you. And you will NOT like it.

[@VeritatemQuaere]

Simple steps of protecting yourself from a 30 year ITer. Freeze your credit RFC cards in wallet Put in stop cell phone # forwarding with carrier Don’t answer ANY phone call not in your contact REMEMBER If financial or tech calls you directly, hang up and call them back with the number you contact them before. And now for the hardest rule: Use Common Sense, if you don’t have it ask a family member to help you.

[@JoeBtfzplk]

That plus no financial apps on your phone. No financial contacts on your phone. That way, if your phone is lost or stolen they have no idea where your money is.

[@VeritatemQuaere]

@@JoeBtfzplkI am not an apple proponent but there facial recognition is very good. No one getting in your phone with that turn on. Get and use a vpn and learn how to use, quite easy actually. Also if the phone app is directly from the financial site, then they are safer than a computer. Security in IT is a layered effect due to the many points of entry. Heck if this 66 year old can do it, so can you.

[@bonanzatime]

I get so many emails from my financial and banking institutions that are actually legitimate. My question is, WHY do they do that?! When they know Damn Well that that is an open door invitation to encourage for scams!!! I Delete EVERYTHING!!!

[@joarvat]

They may inform you about things in that channel. Just don't click on any links or interact in other ways

[@bonanzatime]

@joarvat So why the hell do they put so many links in their emails? Even in emails about the dangers of cyber fraud and cyber security?. I think they have some really stupid people, or they are behind alot of the fraud. .. Banks should NOT be sending their clients any kind of emails. period.

[@yogimaster1]

If anyone calls you claiming to be your bank, your credit card security, the IRS (which would never happen) etc. just say "let me hang up and I'll call you right back so I know it's really you I'm talking to." Then hang up, regardless of what they say, and look up the correct phone number to whomever they claimed to be with. They really target old people.

[@tshuxeng5267]

these tranfers can easily be tracked but yet they can't get the money.... makes no sense.

[@Mark-rw3kw]

They can track it, but they can't legally get it back.

[@---pt3lx]

Very often the money is transferred to people thinking they are doing a legitimate job-while in reality they are money-laundering by forwarding the money to a foreign country in a non-recoverable way. These people are caught and sentenced of course, bat being victims themselves they are unable to reimburse the primary victims.

[@patiencezero-xc9zl]

Those are the calls I love taking and really effing with the scammer. I pretend often to be duped and waste a lot of their time, hopefully giving them less time to dupe just one person. They get really angry when they figure out they are being screwed with because they are on a clock.

[@Wendy-ce5gd]

My dad did that once. He played along while the scammer told him he needed to go directly to the bank to withdraw xxx dollars. He pretended he was getting in the car and driving to the bank etc, as far as the scammer let it go on..l

[@johng4093]

Cheap thrills. 😊

[@Max-hq2jm]

I did the same..had the guy in the phone for 23 minutes. Funny thing, I don't get those calls anymore...

[@goodbyspam]

@@Max-hq2jm Yes I usually drag it out for as long as possible. I almost feel sorry for the poor wretch on the other end of the line.

[@philjans1]

YOU forgot to mention something vital: the scammers follows the Social Media posts of people and when they see that you are going on vacation : they wait RIGHT THERE to do the call

[@Sutterjack]

Scammers often use FEAR and URGENCY as the main tactic to make you panic and not think rationally - always take deep breath and contact your financial institution DIRECTLY.

[@PerfectoKiss]

Call or go to the bank directly to confirm suspicious activities. At the minimum, you put the responsibility on the real financial institution to prevent the fraud. Gotta love humanity. What a terrible species we are.

[@JoeBtfzplk]

NEVER have your all of your life savings in just one financial institution.

[@raiden031]

Well when you're stupid you're going to give it up to scammers even if it's spread out

[@LearnGrowHealThrive]

They were YOUNG, they likely didn't have enough money to spread it around to multiple institutions and pay multiple fees at multiple banks.

[@olasek7972]

I do have all my life savings in a single institution but I don’t fall for silly scams

[@dianerivera3222]

Love the fact we have a CFP that we know personally and we do not deal with just anyone at the company (wealth management co). He and his assistant are the only ones we will talk to. I would never go with just a large company like Schwab without having one individual who knows us and we know. We're retired and know how to protect our assets. I also never answer the phone unless I know the name or number. I only answer our door now because we have a doorbell camera and I can see who is there. Also, our CFP calls us from his phone that has his name on it, usually his personal cell.

[@stephaniewillson9383]

And thats the best part of being broke...nobody has called to scam me...nothing to scam!!!

[@bookmagicroe9553]

Someone called me supposedly from a poll. The person had an accent. They asked me for my educational level and date of birth. I kept hearing a rooster crowing and when I asked about the rooster the person hung up. Apparently the poll was over !

[@LJ-jq8og]

Just had the same call to my mothers voice mail.. I should call them back and give them a bad DOB and play it out ! 😆

[@bjb7587]

Rooster was the caller's supervisor. "Hurry up. Faster!"

[@amgooder]

Oh! That night for sure they had rooster soup😂😂😂

[@goodbyspam]

I'll try asking about the rooster too. Hope it works.

[@BigORat]

So is that how the couple got wiped out? They shared the 6 digit security code sent to them from Schwab to log in to their account? They shared the code with the thieves? I don't understand. You say the bad guys sent a verification code to the couple? So how did the bad guys get a working 6 digit verification code for the couple's account?

[@SuperVokan]

Because they are on the other line with the legit banking institution. Charles Schwab is pushing a legit code to the victim, and then the victim is repeating it back to the scammers.

[@carolmarr6607]

Thanks for warning people. Horrid scammers and they get away with these fraudulent schemes

[@aulderyan]

Schwab was justified in denying the fraud claim. The couple broke every rule in the "dont get scammed book. Your guidance is correct. Stay vigilant everyone.

[@williamobrien3981]

Scammers submitted a fake tax form 1099 with our info and tried to have the refund sent to their debit cards. Fortunately the debit card company did not send the debit cards to the scammers address, but instead sent it to our address on record, which is how we found out something was going on. we informed the IRS who issued us a pin number to use for our 1099s. What was crazy was the IRS still processed the fake 1099 and sent me a check for $7000, which I then had to return to the IRS.

[@dinahsoar6982]

My mother had to run a quick errand and left my two sisters at home, telling the oldest, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO ANYONE...Mom left, drove around the block, came back to the house and knocked on the door...the oldest opened the door and mom let her have it b/c she opened the door after being told not to do so..we laugh about it now, but it does prove that leaving kids home alone can be risky. Sis claimed she knew it was mom, and that's why she opened the door...apparently she'd looked out the window and seen mom's car in the driveway.

[@voiceofraisin241]

Mom was smart. Just not smart enough. even if the daughter didn’t see mom’s car she could recognize the sound of the engine or the door closing.

[@dirtyjersey4672]

I don’t answer any calls that aren’t already in my contacts. No voicemail = automatic block. Then there is a current text message with a United States postal service claiming they have a package at there facility, but need to verify my information? lol, and there is a link to click on. Unbelievable! I just keep blocking these clowns.

[@drescherjm]

I have seen a postal one that is like we have a package addressed to you (and they don't know who I am) and at the same time they need my address to deliver but somehow they have my cell phone number which I don't give out. I just delete that nonsense.

[@steveshea6148]

You realize that there's phone number spoofing right... just because it appears to be the number from your contacts doesnt mean it actually is.

[@dirtyjersey4672]

@@steveshea6148 I get that. However, that hasn’t happened to me so far. Knock on wood!

[@garatobra2504]

Who in the postal office have time to give this kind of individual service ? If the PO does that the whole postal system will be paralyzed.

[@buckybarnes3803]

The Bee Keeper will take care of this

[@MB-uy5kh]

Awesome movie! Looking forward to Beekeeper 2

[@Factsmatter626]

I thought it was a bad movie. Jason, big fan. Bad writing, not a fan.

[@wanderlust4591]

He never got the money back

[@schallrd1]

The old lady still got stung.

[@sactopyrshep]

I have two rules that simplfy my life. 1. Only open First-Class mail. If it isn’t important enough to send first-class mail, I’m not interested. 2. Never answer a call from someone you don’t recognize. Let it go to voice mail. If it’s important, they will leave a message.

[@xiomaraquijada5121]

Thank you for taking your time for this warning. Really appreciate it. ✨

[@God.Almighty]

i feel i'm smart enough not to fall for scams but not overconfident enough to think it can never happen to me. watching and reading about these cases is like ongoing tactical training for my mind to continue to be cautious and wary at all times.

[@frankb1]

So the couple "unknowingly" gave the bad guys the TFA code? You left out part of the story. You didn't explain how they shared it uknowingly.

[@rmalcordia1818]

Perhaps in this instance the unknowingly referred to not knowing they were scammers. They knew that they’d given the number to someone. That would let Schwab off the hook. Nightmare stuff.

[@bibibachmd9995]

I do not answer any call I do not recognize. There are many scam calls. I get texts stating I owe the IRS. A scam.

[@johnsimonelli9988]

Never ever call them back on your phone that received the call or your house or business phone!! They can actually highjack your sim card and reroute any number you dial to them. That is from a good friend of mine that investigates fraud cases. Ask yourself this question, Why would your bank call you to tell you someone is trying to steal your money!!!

[@bjb7587]

Why wouldn't your bank contact you to tell you someone is trying to steal your money? Now, granted they will stop any suspicious activity, but they will still contact you.

[@olivecracker1]

How do they highjack your sim card ?

[@Joe-n4e8e]

Wow an ex director for those agencies fell for a scam?? Goes to show how vulnerable we become as we age😳

[@nicolasbenson009]

I am currently in my 50s and This is no time to taper retirement savings. I want to max out my retirement contributions and I also have another $200k in a savings account that i want to invest in a non-retirement account. Where should I invest it now?

[@sharonwinson-m8g]

Safest approach i feel to tackle it is to diversify investments. By spreading investments across different asset classes, like bonds, and international stocks, they can reduce the impact of a market meltdown. its important to seek the guidance of an expert

[@tatianastarcic]

A good number of people discredit the effectiveness of financial advisors in exploring new markets, but over the past 10years I’ve had a financial advisor consistently restructure and diversify my portfolio/expenses and I’ve made over $1.2m in gains… might not be a lot but i'm financially secure.

[@Vincent-j8u]

I’ve been looking to switch to an advisor for a while now. Any help pointing me to who your advisor is?

[@tatianastarcic]

Yeah for real, Melissa Terri Swayne is one asset manager that gives the breakdown of everything on how things are done, joining an effective financial community can be 100% beneficial when joined properly that's all I can say out of experience..

[@TinaJames222]

She appears to be well-educated and well-read. I just ran a Google search for her name and came across her website; thank you for sharing.

[@markt4297]

always call the number on the back of ur card, number in contacts. or go online to their sight.

[@alvinmanalaysay839]

So why name Schwab if Schwab had no role to play in the misuse of the security credentials? As you said yourself it could have been ANY financial institution.

[@christopherkennedy1807]

Schwab made a $HUGE$ error in my account…moved my money out!

[@rcdyer]

This is particularly bothersome because all they had to do was set their account up to alert them by text and or email when there was a minimum amount you select being withdrawn out of your account or trades, transactions, etc. being done! If they had done this they would have known the call was bogus. SET YOUR ACCOUNTS UP TO ALERT YOU. This will stop scammers AND you will be alerted IF somehow they hack your account and take your money out, sell your stocks, etf's, etc. Protect yourself people..

[@dorothymartin8557]

How do you set that up? I haven't been offered an option like that. 9:27

[@rcdyer]

@@dorothymartin8557 contact customer service. I don't remember exactly how I did it.

[@movdqa]

If I get a contact from a financial firm, I go to the website directly (never from a link). I have text and email alerts from my financial companies for every transaction. The latter helps if someone does checkwashing which is a really big problem these days.

[@glennet9613]

I'm confused. You said that the scammers gave them the verification code but they must have got it from the bank and then passed it on to the scammers.

[@bigjohnny5280]

The scammers are resetting your account password while on the phone with you. The verification code comes from your account and goes to you, then you read the code to the bad guy and they are able to reset your password and gain access to your account.

[@stevemyopinion423]

There should be a way to lock your account that no more. A set amount. Can be sent with out going there in person with I'd

[@lanierosenberg]

The number one rule in saving is the same as the number one rule for investing, DIVERSIFY!!! Never have all your money in one place. If one account gets hacked/stolen, it's not the end of the world.

[@eddieohearn17]

When I receive calls like this, I think the individual hang up and call the number I know is the bank and the people that I talk to regularly.

[@goldiefreeman8693]

Thank you so much for sharing 😊

[@johneyon5257]

the suggestion to call a number you know is the company's is a practice I use in response to emails with links to click - instead of relying on convenient links - i open another tab and type in the website home page (or select from 'favorite bookmarks') - and work my way to my account - this is how i'm training myself to never click on links in emails

[@rschier1]

I will NEVER answer a call from an unfamiliar number. It's as easy as that.

[@BlessedBeMyDay]

The problem is it could be a spoofed number. Which to you looks legit. Let go to voicemail and call them yourself with a number you know to be good .

[@thebes118]

I do both.

[@jerryfacts9749]

Excellent advice! When I log in to my account I see the warning about NOT to give the code. I get lots of Scam calls and emails. I hang up on the calls and or delete the emails. If I have a question about an account I log in or contact them using the phone number I know to be the original number.

[@arthurwatts1680]

Things go a whole lot more smoothly when your bank has skin in the game. If they are owed six figures on the sale of your home, they won't be playing games with conveyancers or lawyers, at least not in my experience.