[papito]

I got roofied once in a bar and the next thing I knew I was going back to my place in the back of a car. They gave me weed, too. You are completely out of it, you will say whatever they ask you. This is how truth serum works, at its core.

So, the girl(s) called Chase posing as my wife and transferred $500 out of my account. A nice chunk of cash, but not too greedy so I could let it go and not pursue it any further. You swallow the embarrassment and move on with your life.

[Cthulhu_]

It's kinda scary that they can order a cash transaction via phone. Is there no identity verification at all?

[papito]

Whatever the bank asked, I gave her all the information. It's insane how easy it was. I had no defenses at all.

Moral of the story: please don't store large amounts of cash in your checking account.

[dekrg]

>Moral of the story: please don't store large amounts of cash in your checking account.

Seems to me that the true moral of the story is don't cheat on your wife.

[kzrdude]

Close reading reveals that in the story, only the robbers claim that he has a wife and no other facts point towards it.

[dekrg]

And Chase just transferred the money without any knowledge or indication of him actually having a wife?

I mean it's possible, but if it really was as easy as just getting some information and posing as a wife, then this kind of fraud would be very widespread.

[gruez]

> And Chase just transferred the money without any knowledge or indication of him actually having a wife?

Sounds like the wife excuse was only needed because the scammers were female. If the scammers were male they could have easily impersonated him directly. It's not like the bank keeps voiceprints of their customers for identification.

[papito]

Yeah, I did not have a wife.

[swiley]

None of this stuff is authenticated the number on your credit card is an ID number not an auth secret, and if you make a habit of it your bank will cash personal checks from you written on notebook paper.

The idea is that fraud is already illegal and there are methods for dealing with it.

[im3w1l]

I think the issue is that the bank probably gets a lot of legitimate phone calls like that. $500 is the kind of money you can need urgently and where failing closed would be a major inconvinience.

[kzrdude]

"Good customer service" is indistinguishable from vulnerability to social engineering.

[im3w1l]

I think you are only seeing one side of the issue here. Getting drugged out of your mind and telling strangers your mother maiden name and the name of your childhood pet is just not that common of an occurence. The rare lost $500 may be a worthwhile price to pay, to be able to access your money in a pinch.

Now when we get to 4-digit sums, the balance starts to shift to caution.

[papito]

One, yes. It was a fair amount for a hard lesson IMO. But also keep in mind that these people were extremely smooth, confident, and "professional". It was a technique, they were not improvising.

The only reason you think this is not a common occurrence is because people don't talk about it, very much like women who are sexually harassed are not vocal about being taken advantage of. Hey, now I know how it feels.

I don't talk about it, but I chose to because the top post suggested that somehow the information that you give out is always under your control. It's not, and this sort of scheme/robbery happens ALL the time.

[kzrdude]

Thanks for telling about it

[seibelj]

That is extremely scary. I hope you filed a police report? That person is a serious criminal.

[dannyw]

Ehh, for a lot of people $500 is the "I'd rather just move on" amount.

If that happened to me I would move on, particularly because you don't know the criminals here and whether they'd seek retribution if you made a police report.

If someone roofied you, they'd probably be willing to do worse things to you if you hassled them. Just some advice; speaking from life experiences.

[seibelj]

A person drugging you at a bar, illegally entering your house, and then robbing your bank accounts. Felonies on top of felonies!

[Nursie]

Yeah that's not just $500 down the tube, that's a whole lot of other violations on top, and very serious regardless of the money. Definitely something to report ASAP.

[sizzle]

Yup what if they stole some keys or garage clicker to rob you later or other personal info to do some identity theft? Better have a police report to cover your ass at a minimum.