HINGHAM, Mass.- A Hingham woman was scammed out of $56,000 after receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be from her bank’s fraud department, police said.
The 43-year-old woman reported the scam to police on August 12, saying she received an unsolicited call at about 6 p.m. the previous evening. The caller claimed someone had gone to her local bank branch and attempted to impersonate her to make a wire transfer.
The caller told the woman the attempted transfer had been stopped but that her account was likely compromised and that she needed to transfer her money to a new account.
The caller said the bank was closed for the night and that someone would contact her the following morning with further instructions.
At about 9 a.m. the next day, the woman received another call and was instructed to go to her local bank branch and transfer her money into what the caller described as a “new safe account.”
She was told to remain on the phone while entering the bank. The woman then completed a $56,000 wire transfer using information provided by the caller.
After the transfer was completed, the caller told her they were conducting an investigation.
The woman called back a short time later to make sure she had not been scammed. She was told her money was covered by the “FDC up to $250,000,” according to police.
Several hours later, she became suspicious and contacted her local bank branch. She then learned that she had been scammed.
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