Texas teacher loses $32,000 to phone scam posing as Chase Bank

FORT WORTH, Texas — Russell Leahy thought he was protecting his money when he answered the phone call from what seemed to be Chase Bank representatives warning him about fraud on his account. Instead, the 28-year-old schoolteacher said he lost his entire life savings of $32,000 to scammers.

“It was my entire life savings,” Leahy said. “I had literally never felt like the wind had been taken out of my sails before. I’d never really felt like I was gonna pass out before, but it really felt like the end of the world for me.”

The newlywed had spent years saving the money by staying home on weekends and avoiding travel, hoping to start a family with his wife. Now, he said, they’re living paycheck to paycheck.

Leahy said the scammers called him pretending to work for Chase Bank, telling him his account had been compromised and he needed to move his money to a new, secure account for protection. The fraudsters sent him text messages and banking information that appeared authentic.

“I couldn’t even believe how sophisticated it was,” Leahy said.

The scheme happened quickly, leaving Leahy feeling violated and vulnerable.

“It’s been extremely violating,” he said. “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.”

Chase Bank returned just over $2,000 to Leahy, he said, but told him he wasn’t covered by fraud protection.  In an email to WFAA, Chase explained the distinction between fraud and scams.

According to the bank, “Fraud on a bank account involves someone illegally accessing someone else’s account and making withdrawals, transfers, or purchases without the account holder’s permission.”

A scam, a Chase representative said, is “a deceptive scheme or trick used to cheat someone out of their money or other valuable assets. Scammers often use false promises, misleading information, or deceptive activities to manipulate victims into giving up something of value. Scams can take many forms, including counterfeit or non-existent products sold on social media marketplaces, phishing emails, fake websites, spoofed Caller IDs on mobile phones, fake profiles on dating sites, fake jobs on job boards, among others.”

Despite needing the money back desperately, Leahy said he hopes sharing his story will prevent others from falling victim to similar schemes.

“I’d rather me be the sacrificial lamb for the rest of these people and maybe save other people’s money from being stolen,” he said. “I’m really hoping to look ahead and move on with my life and not have to start over from scratch.”

Both Chase Bank and Leahy recommend that anyone receiving suspicious calls should hang up and contact their bank directly using the phone number on the back of their card or by visiting a branch location.

“I just hope it doesn’t end the way that this did,” Leahy said.

Chase Bank provided the following guidance to help consumers avoid similar scams:

“These types of scams are heartbreaking. We urge all consumers to ignore phone, text or internet requests for money or access to their computer or bank accounts. Banks and legitimate companies won’t make these requests, but scammers will.”

• Protect your personal account information, ATM pins, passwords and one-time passcodes. If someone contacts you and asks for this information, especially if it’s someone claiming to be from your bank, do not share it with them.
• If you want to be sure you are talking to a legitimate representative of your bank, call the number on the back of your card or visit a branch
• Never click on suspicious links in a text or email or grant anyone remote access to your phone or computer.
• Do not respond to phone, text or internet requests for money or access to your computer or bank accounts. Banks will never call, text or email asking you to send money to yourself or anyone else to prevent fraud.