A 43-year-old resident of Hingham, Massachusetts, lost $56,000 after falling victim to a phone scam involving individuals impersonating bank employees. According to local reports, the incident began with an unexpected phone call and culminated in a fraudulent wire transfer.
The sequence of events began around 6 p.m. when the woman received a call from someone claiming to represent her bank's fraud department. The caller stated that an individual had recently visited a bank branch and attempted to impersonate her to execute a wire transfer.
Although the caller claimed the suspicious transaction had been stopped, they warned that her account was compromised and required her to move her funds into a new account for protection. Because the bank was closed, the caller arranged to follow up the next morning.
The scammers called back at approximately 9 a.m. and directed the victim to visit her local branch to complete a wire transfer into what was described as a new safe account. The caller stayed on the line with the woman while she went to the bank and transferred $56,000 using routing and account details supplied by the fraudsters.
Following the transfer, the caller assured the victim that the funds were secure and that an ongoing investigation was underway. When the woman later called back to verify the situation, the scammer falsely claimed the money was protected by the FDIC for up to $250,000.
Suspicion arose several hours later, prompting the woman to contact her actual bank branch directly. It was then that she discovered she had been defrauded. Local police are currently investigating the incident.
