An Alexandria woman lost nearly $7,600 in a phone scam last month, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
On August 12, the victim received a phone call from multiple suspects claiming to be representatives of Wells Fargo, stating that the victim’s account information had been leaked. The victim was told she needed to transfer her money to a different account, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
According to the search warrant affidavit:
The suspects instructed (the victim) to transfer money into her Venmo account. After one large transaction, no other transaction was successful. The suspect then instructed her to move her money from her checking account to her Apple Cash account, controlled and operated by Green Dot Corporation. After this was accomplished, the suspect(s) instructed (the victim) to add a “OnePay” account to her Apple Wallet to transfer the money from her Apple Cash account to the “OnePay” account.
(The victim) stated that some of the transactions declined, however, two transactions were successful. She stated that one successful transaction was in the amount of $4,985 and the second successful transaction was in the amount of $2,611, totaling a loss of $7,596.
Police traced the transactions to a man’s bank account in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. APD confirmed that the man exists, but that he reported his phone and other personal identifying information were stolen in April 2024, as stated in the search warrant affidavit.
No arrest has been made in connection with this incident.
Wells Fargo says that scammers will “often use an urgent tone to push you to act quickly,” and “may pose as someone you know or as a legitimate organization to ask for an immediate payment or sensitive information.”
“Be on the lookout for bank impostors who tell you to send a wire to another account or person to protect your money,” Wells Fargo said. “We’ll never ask you to send money to yourself or anyone else.”
