KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — It’s likely your mailbox is stuffed with unsolicited mail several times a week. Most of it is harmless, but there is a risk to some of these letters.
A Knoxville woman recently received a letter claiming to be from Wells Fargo. Since it caught her attention, she called the phone number listed in the letter. Then she called NewsNation affiliate WATE and told them what she was told by the customer service reps.
The letter she received mentions an accidental death insurance mortgage policy, from more than a decade ago. However, Hazel, a widow, has never had a policy with Wells Fargo and she knows a scam when one comes along. But she’s afraid others may not.
“This is the letter that I got from Wells Fargo. And, they had all this information here,” said Hazel.
Hazel, a retired Department of Motor Vehicle supervisor, was curious when she received a letter from Wells Fargo’s customer care department – the letterhead had been copied.
“When I called to investigate, this person first, they told me I had $1,294.31. Have 45 days in which to claim it. And, they are going to mail me something,” said Hazel.
The letter claimed their records indicate that Hazel had a Mortgage Accidental Death insurance policy for one year beginning in 2008.
“That was my question to this first person. What account did it come out of? Well, I don’t know. I’ll switch you to someone. This is the second person, Sabrina. Sabrina didn’t know. So she switched me to a man, the third person. He didn’t know the account. So, if you have my money, but you don’t know where the account came from, You don’t know?” said Hazel.
She said the amount of money left behind in the so-called insurance policy, nearly $1,300, would likely have tempted someone to fall for the hoax.
“See if I got excited [and said] ‘Oh, where is it?’ They would have asked me for my date of birth, what checking account to put it in. What is the account number you think it came out of?” said Hazel.
Wells Fargo warns the public to beware of email, text, and letter scams. The company said scammers will use various tactics to get your attention, including telling you there is a $1,000 or more in an account with your name associated to it. The goal of a mail scam is to get you to provide your personal information.
Hazel worries that a lot of people will fall for a scam like this because they are stressed about money.
“If people should get Wells Fargo, or whoever, anybody telling you [that] you have money: Ask them, well what account did you get it out of? Where is it coming from? If they say, I don’t know, butt off right then,” said Hazel.
A scam like Hazel received appears real because the thieves used, in this case, a Wells Fargo letterhead and began the letter with an account number, a fake one. So how did the scammers who stole Wells Fargo’s logo, send that letter to Hazel in the first place, and should you be worried if a scammer knows your name and address? Anyone can get find them, they are public information, if you know where to look.
Identity thieves depend on you to fall for the bait of money sitting in an account with your name on it. If you receive a phishing scam like the one Hazel did, don’t respond to it and she didn’t.
