Woman Finds Bank Account Hacked, With $27k Extra
In a strange twist on a now familiar story, an English woman last May found that her bank account had been accessed by criminals and that the money therein had increased. Amanda Fothergill, 40, of Darlington, received a phone call from a stranger who claimed to have deposited a substantial amount of money in her account. Shocked, Fothergill checked her balance only to discover a brand new deposit of £17,200 (around $27,500). The crook, who would call in ensuing weeks as frequently as once a day, tried to convince Fothergill to transfer £14,000 to another account, leaving her with £3,000 for her trouble. For her part, Fothergill wasted no time in notifying both the police and her bank, Abbey. Sadly enough, her prompt honesty was not exactly rewarded.Immediately, Abbey froze her accounts while its investigators jumped on the case. Friday before last, following months of investigations, the bank closed Fothergill's accounts, labeling her as being at high risk for fraud. Understandably miffed, Fothergill wondered to the Northern Echo how the bank could treat her thusly. "Abbey never lost any money because I stopped it before it started," she said. "I feel like I am being victimized for being a victim." Last Monday, the bank claimed Fothergill's accounts had been closed mistakenly, and promised to apologize and reinstate them.
It's funny how, following press coverage of the account closures, the bank grew a conscience all of a sudden. Let's hear it for the press sticking it to the Man. [From: The Northern Echo, via Mirror]
Death of Print
Elle Girl
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CosmoGirl
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Christian Science Monitor
Founded in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, this venerable paper will move all its daily content to the Web starting in 2009, though it will still publish a weekly print version.
Radar Magazine
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ab. joe said 2:38PM on 10-05-2009
ok: wonder how many are thinking the same thing -- "No good turn is left unpunished"
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dwscrub said 2:53PM on 10-05-2009
There's a great lesson to be learned here. If someone deposits a large sum of money into your account withdraw it all and open a new account elsewhere.
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onechance32 said 6:09PM on 10-05-2009
sorry i wouldve done the same and changed my phone number.....lol
Daniel Lovejoy said 3:00PM on 10-05-2009
I hope she closed her bank account after this fiasco and moved her savings somewhere else.
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Lisa said 5:53PM on 10-06-2009
Ain't THAT a b*tch!! I would definitely move my money to another bank after that!!
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sjs2107 said 9:32AM on 10-06-2009
I got an email from this bank in "England" saying that I was being awarded about that much money and to give them financial information to open an account. Obviously I knew it was bogus but it also said "sir" (I am a woman). I replied to ask them if they knew my name and received a reply that it is legit and to please take action. I just never responded. It sounds exactly like this above. Maybe I should have and wouldn't have been $28K richer! :)
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jbjg24m said 3:32PM on 10-05-2009
if i9 find any extra money deposited in my account, i'm keeping quiet about it !
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TROPIKWAVE said 9:51AM on 10-06-2009
HONESTY , COPS NEVER BELIEVE IT CAN HAPPEN BECAUSE THEY ARE RARELY HONEST THEMSELVES
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Mike said 4:16PM on 10-05-2009
Funny how backwards the world is. It works for tipping and compliments too. If you tip somebody, the service gets worse. When I compliment a company or business for doing a good job, usually the next time I deal with them, its a big fiasco leaving me wishing I had left well enough alone. Backwardass people.
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douggiemofo said 5:25PM on 10-05-2009
Yeah something similar happened to me thanks to Wells Fargo's poor security processes.
Back in August 2007, I had two valid Money Gram Money Orders that I deposited on a Friday for $2000. Over the weekend my account dipped below $2000 after a weekend camping trip. (No access to phone signal out in the NW Woods. )
So when I checked my account on Monday via Phone Banking, I was on the phone with a bank teller and in the middle of this my account was 'frozen' due to security being suspicious of 'fraudulent activity'.
When I was transferred to security I was told that they were not able to verify funds, my account was frozen, they were holding my money and if I didnt clear up the issue Wells Fargo would press criminal charges against me. AND KEEP MY MONEY! And they indicated that they werent responsible for their computers not working, IT WAS MY FAULT.
Wow! Nice! I had no gas, no money, and all my money was tied up because their computers didnt synch properly with Money Gram.
Then after I raised holy hell with the Money Order place, they got on the phone and it still took Hell's Fargo 72 hours to reinstate my funds.
And apparently this is all legal under Wa State law(effing lobbyists). They could have waited 5 days and it all would have been legal....
Be very careful with who you bank with... Well's Fargo gets a big "thumbs down" from me.
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Prince Charles said 5:37PM on 10-05-2009
Wells Fargo is one shitty of a bank, and how I wished everybody would stop banking and doing business with that scam of an institution!
Max Mickey said 5:24PM on 10-05-2009
The bank must have thought the woman did the hacking.
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Jerry Lewis said 5:52PM on 10-05-2009
What I like best about Wells Fargo Bank.............
If you have four accounts with them and a credit card and a debit card on three of the four accounts and one is a savings account and you have banked with them for almost ten years and your combined balance has never dropped below $10,000 they will charge you $25 for not using one of your credit cards.
When I went to the bank and questioned the charge I was told that the charge was an incentive to get me to use the card more. They make this charge to all their customers who have a credit card that is not used at least twelve times per year. If you have a W F account you better check your statements closely every month.
When I threatened to close all accounts and demanded cash immediately they agreed to reverse the charge. I got my $ 25 back.
Guess what, the next year they charged me again. Again I got it back after a confrontation.
Want to guess where I bank now? It is NOT at Wells Fargo.
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vgkflc said 6:18PM on 10-05-2009
Well ; what would you do? LOL !!!!
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mary ann said 3:15PM on 10-07-2009
i just opened new account at boa online. rule is can open new checking account then deposit $25 to start the account. before i made the $ 25 required opening deposit. boa debitted my account $888,888.88. how can a bank allow a debit for that amount when no funds were in the account to begin with? no one has my account info. what happened? what do i do?
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