A Maine woman claims she is the victim of a sophisticated wire transfer scam

Maine (WABI) – We all work hard for our money.

It can be extremely frustrating if your credit card or banking information is stolen.

If this happens, expect your credit card company or bank to remedy the situation.

However, if you become a victim of wire fraud, you may not receive protection due to a loophole in federal banking law that went into effect in the 1970s.

Michaela Lombardo of Lewiston says she received a text message on Aug. 6 from Bank of America, which appeared to be her bank of nine years.

The text message asked her to approve a $900 fee from Apple.

Michaela replied “No.”

Seconds later she received a call from that number.

“They asked me to log into my online account to see what my last purchase was because they wanted to make sure their last purchase matched mine,” Lombardo said. “During the entire call, it just didn’t feel 100 percent right.”

She hung up and called the Bank of America fraud hotline.

Bank officials said it was not them but most likely scammers who called.

Will your bank help prevent a transfer to a fraudster? The FTC says probably not

“There is a way for malware to clone your phone. Even if I didn't provide a password or anything like that, they were able to access my account,” she explained. “They pulled out two wires, one for $8,000 and one for $1,900, and they made a cash advance for $1,300. I only knew they were happening because I received emails saying it was happening.”

Lombardo says it only took these criminals a few minutes to completely delete her account.

“There was no flag raised at Bank of America to say, ‘This may not be right,’ or anything like that. It just happened and I had no way of controlling it,” she added.

She filed a complaint with Bank of America's fraud department. She also filed a police report and reported it to the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission.

Click here to learn how to avoid fraud by scammers.

She says the bank rejected her request for relief and told her she wasn't protected because it was wire fraud.

This is due to a federal law from 1978. The Electronic Funds Transfer Act provides an exception for electronic transfers.

“Unfortunately, if you will, banks are not subject to the same standards as credit card companies. I encourage people to always use a credit card as it provides an additional layer of protection. They will work with you. In most cases, we have found that {companies} will help you get the funds back or dispute the charge, if you will,” explained Paula Fleming, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer for the Better Business Bureau.

Lombardo has written a letter to the CEO of Bank of America but has not yet received a response.

She and her father believe the bank should do more to protect its customers.

She will receive credit. She won't get any credit. Oh, he made a mistake. They will get recognition, and in the end they got nothing. Every time she called until that final call group, it was a different story,” Christopher Lombardo said.

“I couldn’t pay the rent. I couldn't pay for my car. I couldn't pay any of my bills. I got late payment interest and late payment interest. It was honestly a really scary time. “So if I can help one person from something like that happening to them, I want to be able to do that,” Michaela added.

Lombardo has since moved to a smaller bank. She is still waiting for answers from Bank of America.

If you are a victim of a scam, report it immediately to the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission.

Click here to check for a scam through the Better Business Bureau. According to the BBB, they estimate that their Scam Tracker helped consumers avoid losing $24.3 million to scammers in 2023 alone.

As for the status of federal law, Democrats in the House and Senate introduced legislation in August called the Protecting Consumers from Payment Scams Act.

The bill would amend the Electronic Funds Transfer Act and make financial institutions responsible for reimbursing consumers who fall victim to these types of scams.

49 consumer advocates, experts and other stakeholders have approved the draft law.

Copyright 2024 WABI. All rights reserved.