Acworth woman falls victim to $8,265 scam
Woman scammed for thousands of dollars
Authorities are looking for a scammer who ran off with thousands of dollars from an Acworth woman. She thought she was protecting her cash but she ended up losing it.
ACWORTH, Ga. - The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a felony theft by deception case.
This after an Acworth woman lost more than $8,000 in an elaborate scam by someone posing as a bank employee.
The backstory:
In a series of transactions using Zelle and a Chase Bank digital wallet, Aleah McPherson transferred a total of $8,265 out of her Wells Fargo account. But when she tried to access the transferred funds, they were gone.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it is investigating the case as theft by deception, a felony offense.
What they're saying:
Aleah McPherson said she received a call from a number associated with Wells Fargo. The caller claimed there was suspicious activity on her bank account and urged her to take immediate action to protect her money.
"This is Wells Fargo Bank. There’s been fraudulent activity on your account," McPherson recalled the caller saying.
Having experienced similar alerts in the past, McPherson said she didn’t think much of it.
"I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. I’ve had this happen before," she said.
McPherson said the caller told her to withdraw her money for safekeeping while the issue was being "investigated."
"You need to, basically, take out your money so that you have it protected while we investigate," she was told.
"That was my savings. What I’ve been [saving] for a while," McPherson said. "Once I was done talking to them, I heard laughing in the background. They are telling you you’ve been scammed — laughing."
McPherson and her fiancé, Clever Eternal, said they hope their experience serves as a warning to others.
"Go to the branch if something might be fraudulent," Eternal said. "I don’t even want to pick up the telephone."
What you can do:
Wells Fargo, while unable to comment on McPherson’s specific case, emphasized that customers should remain vigilant. The bank offered the following tips to avoid falling victim to similar scams:
- Don’t share personal information over the phone or through unverified digital platforms.
- Don’t trust caller ID — scammers can spoof legitimate numbers.
- Don’t allow yourself to be pressured into making a transaction.
The Source: FOX 5's Kevyn Stewart spoke with Aleah McPherson and her fiancé, Clever Eternal, for this article. Wells Fargo provided a statement.