Man Loses $6,500 To Scammers And Chase Bank Wouldn't Cover Him, Until CBS 2 Stepped In
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A CBS 2 viewer told us his $6,500 savings went poof – gone.
As CBS 2's Audrina Bigos reported Monday, the father of four reached out to us when the bank refused to put the money back. But that all changed after the CBS 2 Morning Insiders got involved.
Jerome Foster is a self-described regular guy – a South Side guy, who loves to travel and photography. England, Italy, and France are just three of his beautiful favorites.
But our story is ugly, and likely takes place somewhere dark and scary – cyberspace.
Recently, Foster discovered $1,000 missing from his Chase Bank account. He has had an account with Chase for more than 25 years.
Chase reimbursed him for that $1,000. But then, there were more oddities.
"There were numerous transactions for small amounts less than $1," Foster said
Foster did not worry about the Schwab, Wells Fargo, and Robinhood subtractions, because in each case, the money reappeared.
Still, he noted, "I didn't initiate these transactions."
And then came a whopper.
"You're telling me now that I'm out $6,500, and nobody can help me?" Foster said.
Yep, that's it. Two transfers to a mysterious Robinhood account totaled $6,500.
Meanwhile, screen grabs showed long calls to Chase customer service – with the longest pushing two hours.
"My $6,500 is gone, and you're telling me, 'I don't know what to tell you?'" he said on one of the calls.
Eventually, Chase did tell Foster something – and not what he was hoping to hear. They found the transactions to be authorized, so no adjustment to be made.
In other words, too bad.
"I want some help," Foster said. "I need some help, please."
CBS 2 reached out to Chase, and within days, there was a resolution. The bank reviewed the transaction, and determined Foster should be reimbursed.
"I received $6,500 back into my account, which was missing," Foster said.
The tone in Foster's voice was perceptibly different when we discussed the good news with him.
"For this to be resolved in a timely fashion, thanks to CBS," he said.
While we still don't know exactly how scammers got into Foster's account, we want to end on a positive note.
"I'm very, very happy and thankful – especially this time of year," he said.
One of Foster's photographs shows a rainbow in Chicago. It makes you wonder what is the better picture – that, or the proverbial gold at the end of the rainbow in the form of Foster's money, back where it belongs.
As to those little under-a-dollar transactions and subtractions on Foster's account, banks and brokerages often use those as tests to verify an account is legit. Scammers can too
So if you see any unusual activity – even it if is just a few pennies – don't ignore it. Call your bank right away.
