A tech industry veteran was tricked into wiring $400,000 – her life savings intended as a house down payment – to cybercriminals posing as legitimate parties in a real estate transaction.
As reported by CNBC, Rana Robillard, chief people officer at software startup Tekion, fell victim to a wire fraud scheme while attempting to purchase a home in Orinda, California. Robillard received what appeared to be an email from her mortgage broker with instructions to wire the down payment to a JPMorgan Chase account. Unbeknownst to her, this email was sent by cybercriminals who had infiltrated the communication chain between Robillard and her mortgage broker.
Robillard's ordeal didn't end with the initial theft. Despite early indications that her funds had been located and frozen, she spent months in financial limbo, struggling to recover her money. The article details her frustrating journey through a labyrinth of banks, law enforcement agencies, and government bodies, often receiving little to no information about the status of her case.
After more than five months of being ignored, victim-blamed, and stonewalled, she approached the media with her story. When CNBC contacted the banks involved, they suddenly sprang into action and Robillard finally received her funds back.
It's hardly shocking that these scams are proliferating, given that the very institutions tasked with preventing such fraud seem indifferent until a victim with enough clout can shine a media spotlight on their negligence and avarice. Only then do they scramble to act, revealing just how little they care about the financial security of customers and taxpayers.
Previously:
• Wells Fargo refuses to refund $45k stolen from retiree's account
