A man is sharing his story after he said his bank account was drained after receiving a text message that appeared to be from his bank.
“I was caught off guard, but I could have just walked out of my entrance and given all my money to the first person I saw,” Marcus Miles told Good Morning America.
The text he received simply read, “Did you try to transfer $500 to Zelle?”
Zelle, a mobile payment service built into your banking app, lets you send money to people directly between bank accounts.
However, Miles said he wasn’t trying to send money, so he really wanted to talk to what he thought was his bank.
“I was convinced because he kept saying, ‘It looks like someone is accessing your account from an IP address in Texas,'” Miles said. “Looking back – 16 minutes of manipulation and boy was it good.”
Shortly after the phone call, Miles received a text to confirm his username and login.
“As I was getting the text, I was actually sending it back,” he said.
A few moments later he said his account was empty.
Miles’ story is one of many across the country as Zelle scams become more common.
Lawmakers are now working to make these remittances more secure.
“Congress is considering a draft proposal to ensure that consumers who have been defrauded are protected and get their money back through the banking industry or any other platform they used,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League.
Zelle posted a message on its own TikTok reminding customers that its banks will never ask for personal information because they already have it.
To learn more, visit Zelle’s fraud and scam web page.
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