VISTA, Calif. — Vista resident Jan Hoops fell for a gift card scam last week that began with a pop-up alert on her computer, telling her to call a fake number for Microsoft.
D“He explained that they had hacked into my banking account and my CD account, and they had stolen the money,” Hoops said.
The con man convinced her to withdraw thousands of dollars from her bank account.
“I withdrew money from three different Mission Federal (Credit Unions), and then after that, he had me immediately go to a Lowes and buy gift cards to the tune of $1,000 on each gift card,” she said.
The scammer then convinced Hoops to read him the numbers off the back of the gift cards, which unbeknownst to Hoops, allowed the con man to cash in the cards. “The total damage is right around $24,000,” said Hoops.
A spokesperson for Mission Federal Credit Union said she could not comment on a specific customer’s account, but provided the following statement:
“At Mission Fed, the security and protection of our members’ financial information is a top priority, as is educating our members. Mission Fed employees are highly trained to recognize fraudulent activity, and we have procedures in place to inquire about the nature of any transaction with the safety of our members in mind. But unfortunately, no individual or entity is immune to fraud - and it is on the rise. Mission Fed has made significant investments in services for our all our members and in trainings for our staff to help recognize and address the signs of a scam early, including automatically enrolling all Mission Fed cardholders in our fraud text alert service. We encourage our members – and all San Diegans – to educate themselves on the signs of a scam. In particular, Mission Fed will never ask our members to withdraw funds from their account. Mission Fed has a list of resources and tools available on our website, including a list of frequently asked questions, for those who want to learn more. Please visit www.missionfed.com/topic/fraud-identity-protection/”
In fact, Hoops said employees at both Mission Federal and Lowes asked her about the large sums of cash she was requesting and handling.
“They said, you know, this is a scam that's been going around. We've been seeing this lately, and we just want to make sure you're not under any duress or being coerced into this,” Hoops recalled.
She said the con man had instructed her not to trust the bank and store employees. And, she said, he stayed on the cell phone with her the entire she was making withdrawals and purchasing the gift cards.
“I want people to realize that this is what's happening. It's out there and it's real. And I never thought I was gullible, never,” she said.
Best advice? If you're on the phone with somebody and they're telling you your bank account has been hacked, hang up. Then, call the verified number for your bank and find out if there's been any fraudulent activity on your account.
Hoops has reported the fraud to law enforcement. If she gets any resolution, CBS 8 will report it.
CBS 8 reached out to Lowes for comment, but we did not receive a response.
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