Idaho officials stop $14,000 bank scam from Florida

Scam artists based in Florida were recently prevented from swindling an Idaho resident out of $14,000.

Investigators with the state’s Consumer Protection Division and the office of Attorney General Raul Labrador were made aware of the scam situation after being contacted by the victim.

According to a press release detailing the incident, criminals posing as Wells Fargo financial investigators informed the target their bank account had been “compromised” and requested the funds be withdrawn and mailed UPS overnight for “safekeeping” to an address in Florida.

After complying with the request, the victim thought better and contacted Idaho state officials who quickly teamed with fraud prevention specialists and UPS to halt the package transit and to return the funds shipped to the Idaho resident.

“I’m grateful for the quick action of my investigators at the consumer protection division,” Labrador said. “It’s rare to stop a crime in progress, especially of this magnitude. It’s always easier to prevent a scam than it is to financially recover from one.”

The attorney general further reminded Idahoans to always verify the identity of anyone claiming to represent a financial institution, law enforcement, the courts or a public utility when requesting or demanding a payment or some other type of transfer of funds.

Likewise, he stressed the importance of never giving out personal information, clicking on unknown texts or email links, or providing cryptocurrency, gift cards or money orders to fulfill a request for funds from an unknown source.

Idaho officials, Wells Fargo representatives and the Office of the Florida Attorney general are continuing their investigation into the final destination of the package.

Visit reportscamsidaho.com for more information on potential scams or to file a consumer complaint.