After spending years saving money in the hopes of starting a family, Russell Leahy and his wife are now forced to live paycheck to paycheck.
Leahy, a 28-year-old teacher from Fort Worth, Texas, recently lost $32,000 to scammers who tricked him into revealing sensitive financial information.
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"It was my entire life savings," Leahy told WFAA. "I had literally never felt like the wind had been taken out of my sails before. I’d never really felt like I was going to pass out before, but it really felt like the end of the world for me."
Leahy was reportedly contacted by scammers who claimed to be representatives of Chase Bank. The supposed bank reps called to inform Leahy that his account had been compromised and that he needed to protect his finances by moving the cash into a secure account. All it took were a few text messages and some counterfeit banking information in order to appear genuine.
"I couldn’t even believe how sophisticated it was," Leahy told WFAA.
Now, the newlywed is trying to warn people about the scam that cost him everything in the hopes of preventing others from falling for the same scheme.
Fraud vs. a scam
Unfortunately for Leahy, the situation went from bad to worse when he contacted Chase Bank to report the incident. According to WFAA, the bank told Leahy that his account isn’t covered by fraud protection, arguing that Leahy was the victim of a scam and not financial fraud.
In making this distinction, Chase Bank returned just over $2,000 to Leahy’s account, which is merely a fraction of his total loss. When WFAA contacted Chase Bank for comment, the bank offered clarification on the distinction between fraud and a scam.
"Fraud on a bank account involves someone illegally accessing someone else’s account and making withdrawals, transfers, or purchases without the account holder’s permission," the bank stated in its emailed reply.
A scam, on the other hand, is "a deceptive scheme or trick used to cheat someone out of their money or other valuable assets,” which is what happened to Leahy.
Chase Bank’s response likely isn’t what Leahy wanted to hear, but that hasn’t stopped him from sharing his story in order to prevent others from making the same mistakes.
"I’d rather I be the sacrificial lamb for the rest of these people and maybe save other people’s money from being stolen," he said. "I’m really hoping to look ahead and move on with my life and not have to start over from scratch."
Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
How to avoid falling for similar scams
Unfortunately, Leahy’s heartbreaking story is not unique. The "phishing" scam, which is what Leahy fell for, is one of the most common scams in today’s digital world.
Phishing works by tricking a victim into revealing sensitive information over the phone, by email or by text message. Email used to be the most popular method for conducting phishing scams, but scammers have since expanded their practice to include phone calls, texts and social media. Phishing conducted over the phone is also known as "vishing."
While it’s difficult to pinpoint just how many people are victimized by phishing scams every year, 323,972 internet users throughout the world reported to authorities that they had fallen for a phishing scam in 2021, according to AAG IT Services.
To avoid falling for scams such as this, it’s imperative for people to be informed and alert in order to spot potential threats. Here are some practical steps you can take to protect yourself from becoming a victim:
- Don’t rely on your caller ID, as scammers may spoof the phone number of your bank or another institution that you’re affiliated with in order to gain your trust.
- Never share your account information with anyone who may request it. Your bank will never call or email you asking for this information.
- Protect your accounts with multi-factor authentication. If a scammer were to gain access to your username and password, multi-factor authentication would make it tougher for the scammer to log into your account.
- Ignore transaction requests through calls, texts or emails that you didn’t initiate yourself.
- When in doubt, call your bank — or whatever institution the potential scammers may claim to represent — directly in order to verify any concerns that were shared with you.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
