Woman, 86, without answers after $50,000 vanished from her accounts and fumes bank was ‘asleep at the switch’
After $50,000 vanished from her retirement savings, a woman is now searching for answers.
For more than two months, the 86-year-old retiree has been attempting to retrieve her money from Fidelity Investments.
Nancy Smith stated that until Fidelity fixes the problem, she will keep pushing for answers.
Smith told ABC affiliate WSB-TV, “I have made the decision to live until this is over, and I’m not going to give up.”
This wouldn’t have occurred if someone hadn’t been sleeping at the switch or wasn’t performing their duties.”
Smith, a mother of five and retired educator, resides in Fayetteville, Georgia, which is around 25 miles south of Atlanta.
READ MORE ON BANK SCAMS
Smith found out in September that Fidelity had opened three new joint accounts in her name.
Smith didn’t recognize the individuals associated with each of the accounts.
Smith claimed that these three fraudsters had made eleven separate transfers.
Smith’s retirement funds were transferred to the joint accounts by three individuals, each sending thousands of dollars.
The funds were then moved to other individual accounts from the joint accounts.
According to Smith, they would then drain their account to an unknown location.
Woman forks out $10,000 to rent condo listed on ‘all the sites’ – then she asked ‘parking’ question & realized the truth
Smith claimed that she never approved the transfers or the joint accounts.
I really can’t believe that they didn’t even call me or ask these guys to sign anything,” Smith remarked.
“But it’s true.”
Smith chastised Fidelity for failing to assist her in recovering her money more than two months after it was taken.
Bank tips for avoiding scams
Because artificial intelligence is being used to make frauds more sophisticated, it’s critical to understand how to recognize a scam:
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
Over the phone, she claimed, a bank manager even advised her to “lower her expectations.”
Smith claimed that if I spoke what I wanted to say, my mother would be embarrassed since I would then be unable to attend the Methodist church.
A request for comment from The U.S. Sun was not answered by Fidelity.
FIDELITY UNDER FIRE
According to a staffer who talked to WSB-TV, fraud investigations might take weeks.
Additionally, they stated that Fidelity will not talk about specific situations.
In a statement to WSB-TV, Fidelity stated, “We work directly with our customers to address any questions they may have regarding suspicious activity and do not discuss individual matters to protect customer privacy.”
Read More on The US Sun
“We recognize that scams can affect people and their families, and we urge everyone to take precautions to safeguard their accounts and themselves. This includes regularly checking accounts for suspicious activity and getting in touch with financial institutions if anything unusual happens, such as calls or texts from unidentified parties.
In October, Fidelity also faced criticism after the asset manager acknowledged that a data breach had exposed the personal data of 77,000 customers.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!