A Bank of America customer says she is stunned after losing control of her phone and seeing $17,000 disappear from her bank account within minutes.
And to make matters worse, the bank’s two-factor authentication (2FA) system was a key element of the criminal’s success.
Sharon Hussey says an imposter recently walked into Verizon and convinced the company to give away control of her phone number and SIM card, ABC affiliate news station WJLA reports.
The thief promptly used her number to intercept Bank of America 2FA verification codes and break into her account.
Hussey soon realized her phone number had been hacked and decided to contact the bank – but she no longer had a working phone.
So she tried to contact the bank online, but the system sent a 2FA code that she couldn’t receive.
Although Hussey managed to contact the bank shortly after the hack, her money was already gone.
“It was absolutely breathtaking. My heart sank to the floor…
I have a two-factor identification that ended up biting me in the face when it all came down to it. That was the thing that completely hijacked everything. They had complete control over my phone and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Although the transfers from Hussey’s account were unauthorized, Bank of America denied her claim for three months before refunding the account.
In an email, the bank said identity theft is complex, but did not elaborate on why it had repeatedly denied Hussey’s claim.
“We take identity theft very seriously. We are always working to improve the experience, knowing that resolving identity theft issues is a complex process.”
Verizon says it cannot comment on the case due to the need to protect people’s privacy.
“Verizon values the privacy and security of our customers. When a case of possible fraud is brought to our attention, we work quickly to investigate and resolve the matter. Due to customer privacy laws, we cannot share specific information about this specific study.”
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