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#2032302 - 08/07/15 01:35 PM Wire Scam
CrashDavis Offline
Gold Star
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 283
I have a question, we have a customer that is in her 60's. She is wiring money internationally to Malaysia. We believe this is a scam. Over that past month she has done 11 of these wires. The lady will not listen to us about the wires. She keeps a sizable balance in a money market checking account. My question is can we not do the outgoing wire? I know she may want to move her business and the bank is willing to lose her account.

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#2032303 - 08/07/15 01:39 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
Daisy Doodle Offline
Diamond Poster
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,030
Southern U.S.
I had this happen once. We did the final wire for him, but we told him that if he insisted on going forward we would close his account afterward and we did. There was a lot of internal discussion before we got there. Some felt we had done our jobs already and he would just go elsewhere to wire the funds. But I was glad we closed him because it was sickening to watch, plus SARS every 90 days.

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#2032313 - 08/07/15 01:59 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
bcompliance Offline
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Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,294
We have denied wires because of potential scams. A google search of the name and location came back with a bunch of information about being a scammer and serving time due to it previously.
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#2032322 - 08/07/15 02:26 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
CULady Online
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 496
WA
We have also denied sending wires when we suspected fraud. I would much rather convince the person that it is a scam, but I just can't send a wire that I am very certain is fraud. I know that they will probably go to another bank and send the money, but at least I feel like we did our best to try to convince them and did not participate.
Are there any joint owners on the account you can talk to? We did that once. A elderly father was draining his account, but luckily had his daughter on there with him and we were able to reach out to her and she was able to get control of the account and stop it from continuing.
I agree with Daisy though, it is truly hard to watch this going on and not be able to do more.

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#2032324 - 08/07/15 02:33 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
Doug Hendrickson Offline
Power Poster
Doug Hendrickson
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 3,927
I would also contact your local elder abuse organization; they perhaps could offer her more counseling.
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I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.--Confucius

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#2032344 - 08/07/15 03:16 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
Elwood P. Dowd Offline
10K Club
Elwood P. Dowd
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 21,939
Next to Harvey
Opening the lens a bit wider: When a bank is reporting ongoing activity as suspicious and that activity could not possibly take place without the bank's involvement, it should occur to someone in the bank to say: "We are not going to be a party to this!" Financial exploitation of the elderly is the easiest possible example.

Stop sending the wires. You may lose a customer, but you'll still have your self respect.
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#2032402 - 08/07/15 05:21 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
Mocha's Mom Offline
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Mocha's Mom
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 633
Western MA
We have had several instances of refusing to do a wire for an elderly customer. I have one that I have refused to do over $120,000 in wires so he can receive his "winnings". I refuse to let him have online banking (even tho I know it is the fraudsters who keep requesting it). We have called Senior Services multiple times, had the police talk with him and he will not listen. I think of the reputation risk as you know it will be our name in the paper for allowing him to lose all his money. The only thing keeping me from just closing his accounts is I'm afraid the next bank may not be as diligent and he will lose. Very challenging situation...

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#2033148 - 08/12/15 02:01 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
BuckDog Offline
100 Club
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 123
Tennessee
Does she have any family? We had an elderly gentleman that got caught up in several scams and he was convinced he was going to get hugh winnings. He was withdrawing large amounts of cash and then sending the cash via FEDX. I told the branch manager to call me the next time he came in so I could get there and talk with him. He was being berated by phone from several to send this money. The branch manager and I basically corned him in the office and I questioned him about what he was doing and that I sincerly thought it was a scam. He insisted it wasn't but I told him we weren't going to allow him to withdraw the cash that day. His son happened to call him and I requested permission to talk with the son. I called our local FBI agent who came in and talked with him. Ultimately he allowed his son to be added to his accounts and then his son moved the money so that he couldn't get to it as easily. After all we did, it did not stop him. He had several thousand dollars in savings bonds which he cashed and I would assume he continued to send money but at that point, his sons (there are 4) knew about everything and we felt we had done everything we could do. To my original point, is there family that you could get involved?

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#2033209 - 08/12/15 02:59 PM Re: Wire Scam BuckDog
Mocha's Mom Offline
Platinum Poster
Mocha's Mom
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 633
Western MA
There is and we have tried to involve them. They have told us that whatever their Dad wants to do is up to him and they don't want to be involved. There may be bad blood there as I don't believe we are getting the whole story. But he doesn't listen to the police or senior services or anyone else so he is pretty stubborn and insists that he himself knows best.

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#2033260 - 08/12/15 04:29 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
RockChucker, CAMS Offline
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,700
The Country
^and that is when I politely close his accounts and let him make his mistakes elsewhere.
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A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.
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#2033446 - 08/13/15 01:07 PM Re: Wire Scam CrashDavis
HappyGilmore Offline
10K Club
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 19,844
Pulling people out of the ditc...
agreed with Rock...
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