Memphis woman sues Regions Bank after losing $120K to scam
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – An 89-year-old Memphis woman is suing Regions Bank after she claims staffers allowed her to wire $120K to accounts in Hong Kong.
“The law says that if a financial institution has reason to suspect fraud, they’re to hold off on a transaction,” explained her son, Jeff Rosenblum, who is an attorney.
In November 2022, the woman received a message on her computer stating her device had been hacked and she had to call a number on her screen right away, according to the lawsuit. A fraudster then convinced her to “immediately wire transfer all of her funds to protected accounts in Hong Kong.”
“Elderly people need to be protected,” her son Jeff explained. “Elderly people are vulnerable. We’re all vulnerable. And when we rely on a financial institution to protect us, they need to use their common sense and utilize the tools they have before them.”
The lawsuit is critical of bank staffers for not flagging the actions of an elderly woman who had never wired money in her life.
“The Regions security officer knew (or at least should have known) about the fraudulent schemes targeted at the elderly involving requests for wire transfers to Hong Kong,” the lawsuit reads. “Yet, he did nothing to protect Plaintiff from this fraudulent activity.”
A Regions Bank spokesman would not comment on the pending lawsuit, but he did send this statement: “We can share that our priority every day is helping customers conduct the transactions they request, while making them aware of the risks of fraud.”
He also shared the bank’s resources for educating customers on how to avoid fraud and scams.
Senior scams
More than 88,000 seniors lost an estimated $3.1 billion to fraud in 2022 — an increase of 84% from the year before, according to the FBI.
“Regardless of the circumstances around the lawsuit, I think we all can agree that we need to do a better job of watching out for each other and preventing these scams,” explained Daniel Irwin, a spokesman for the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South.
He said people of all ages should avoid engaging with unexpected messages, phone calls or emails.
“One of the big red flags should be unsolicited communication,” Irwin explained. “You can’t respond any unsolicited communication, whether it be calls, emails, text messages or in this case, pop-ups on your computer. You just never know who’s going to be on the other end.”
He recommends hanging up or clicking out of an unexpected message. If you have concerns, search for a verified phone number of the person who claims to be contacting you.
“You have to vet all unsolicited communications carefully,” he said.
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