The astonishing fraud story of my neighbor John Johnson
I ran into a neighbor the other day who was off to the bank to close his account. He told me an astonishing story.
He's got a common name. It's not John Johnson, but along those lines. It's a name that other people might have. That might be pertinent.
He banks at TD Bank, a regional (national?) bank with many branches across various states. I think this is pertinent.
Last December someone took $6,000 out of his bank account. They were able to determine that the person produced a driver's license saying they're name was John Johnson when they did the withdrawal. The bank reimbursed him for this and added a security word to his account.
Last week a person came in to the bank and withdrew $3,000. They knew the security password!
The bank is reimbursing him, but he's done with this. He's changing banks.
My guess is that this is an inside job: someone named John Johnson ALSO works for the bank (or is the boyfriend of a teller, perhaps). Anyone who has ever seen your check can pass this info along. It's probably stolen on the dark web as well, for sale to anyone with ID in the name of John Johnson to buy.
I'm always telling my clients that their IDENTITIES can get stolen (and probably have been between all the various hacks) but their ASSETS are tied down tight. Now I'm wondering if that's true. Their investment accounts have another layer of protection, but their banks don't!
Today is a bank holiday so I can't call my bank to ask how they prevent this. My guess is that they can't. I dislike that answer.
He's got a common name. It's not John Johnson, but along those lines. It's a name that other people might have. That might be pertinent.
He banks at TD Bank, a regional (national?) bank with many branches across various states. I think this is pertinent.
Last December someone took $6,000 out of his bank account. They were able to determine that the person produced a driver's license saying they're name was John Johnson when they did the withdrawal. The bank reimbursed him for this and added a security word to his account.
Last week a person came in to the bank and withdrew $3,000. They knew the security password!
The bank is reimbursing him, but he's done with this. He's changing banks.
My guess is that this is an inside job: someone named John Johnson ALSO works for the bank (or is the boyfriend of a teller, perhaps). Anyone who has ever seen your check can pass this info along. It's probably stolen on the dark web as well, for sale to anyone with ID in the name of John Johnson to buy.
I'm always telling my clients that their IDENTITIES can get stolen (and probably have been between all the various hacks) but their ASSETS are tied down tight. Now I'm wondering if that's true. Their investment accounts have another layer of protection, but their banks don't!
Today is a bank holiday so I can't call my bank to ask how they prevent this. My guess is that they can't. I dislike that answer.