A phone scammer made a woman undress and spin in circles on FaceTime to ‘confirm her identity’ after stealing $6,000 from her, according to a police report.
According to Mayfield Heights police, on July 23, an Ohio woman received a call from a man pretending to be from a bank. The man told her there was a “potential fraudulent charge pending” on her account and advised her to move her money to prevent it from being stolen.
The victim took down the bank account numbers provided by the fraudster and added her debit card information to her Apple Wallet, following the scammer’s instructions.
While on the phone with him, she went to a local Huntington Bank branch and withdrew $6,000 in cash. She was then told to deposit the money into a debit card account at a different ATM.
When she tried to remove the funds from the account, however, the transaction didn’t go through. The woman then went home, only to continue receiving calls from the scammer.
The woman stayed on the phone with the crook and went to the Huntington Bank in Mayfield Heights and withdrew $6,000 in cash. https://t.co/obyqVcJiQ4
— Cleveland 19 News (@cleveland19news) July 31, 2024
The scammer, who used FaceTime without turning on his camera, requested a “full body scan to verify her identity” due to a failed transaction, police said. He then tricked her into undressing and spinning in circles as a form of verification.
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The victim only realized the call and transaction were a scam when she heard the fraudster laughing. After realizing this, she tried to withdraw the money but was denied.
The woman later reported the fraud to the bank, only to be told she was responsible for the lost money. Eventually, she reported the theft and the FaceTime call to the Mayfield Heights Police Department.
Sheryl Harris, Director of the Cuyahoga County Department of Consumer Affairs and the Scam Squad, told 19 News it’s “difficult to get money back.” However, she noted that in some cases, law enforcement can track down scammers and their criminal organizations, potentially recovering some funds.
Harris advised that victims should report crimes like these immediately to their local police department so that authorities can catch the scammers and try to get back the stolen money.
