Social media likes to make us think phone, email, and website scams are reserved for the elderly. However, even if you think you know better, you could still be impacted and lose hundreds, even thousands, of your savings. This was a reality one man in Texas had to face. Worse still, the banking scam he was a victim of has had a ripple effect on his life. He’s now speaking out about how the scam happened and what it took from him.
Russell Leahy, a 28-year-old teacher, lost his life savings in a scam he’s now saying was particularly ‘sophisticated,’ he warned in an interview with WFAA. Russell spent years saving up $32,000 from his paychecks. He figured he’d be responsible and have fun later, so he avoided weekends out and traveling. Now, recently married, he’s saying he basically lost it all when he thought he was speaking with Chase Bank representatives.
Russell commented on the scam, “I couldn’t believe how sophisticated it was.” It worked like this: Individuals reached out to him, impersonating representatives from his bank over the phone. They told him they spotted fraudulent activity in his account and told him that he had to move his money. After he allowed them to do so, they even went as far as to send texts to him and bank statements ‘verifying’ what they did. They helped Russel all right—helped him drain his bank account right from under him.
When Russell learned he was scammed, he said he was able to get $2,000 of his money returned by Chase. Unfortunately, the other $30,000 was lost due to a lack of fraud protection. He shared, “I’ve never had a situation like this where my personal identity, money and well-being have been at the forefront of being taken advantage of.” He added, “It was my entire life savings” and that it “felt like the end of the world for me.”
Russell’s recent wedding has softened the blow, so speak, which is some much needed positive energy. However, he said this banking scam has made him feel like “the wind had been taken out of my sails.” He does hope his story will be a lesson for others. More importantly, “I’m really hoping to look ahead and move on with my life and not have to start over from scratch.”
