The loss of a JPMorgan Chase customer’s life savings has prompted Apple to remove a group of apps from the App Store.
Chase customer Avalon Grimes says her account was emptied after she received a call that appeared to come from the bank, CBS New York reports.
The phone number on her caller ID matched the number on the back of her Chase debit card, but the caller was a scammer who convinced Grimes to transfer her money to another account.
The thief used a technique called spoofing to impersonate Chase’s actual phone number, a practice that Verizon says should be illegal.
But CBS New York says it has discovered that spoofing can easily be done through the App Store.
“In the Apple app store, CBS New York found several apps that allow you to spoof numbers, including a prank-calling app that allows us to spoof that same Chase Bank number for free.
On one attempt, Chase Bank even showed up on the caller ID.
Apple says it has sophisticated systems in place to thwart rogue apps, and the company quickly removed a few unnamed apps that CBS New York called out.
According to Apple, the apps were removed because its policy prohibits apps that allow users to make anonymous calls or joke around.
As for Chase, the banking giant says it will never call customers or ask them for security codes. But the bank doesn’t have to pay Grimes back.
The government requires banks to refund customers in certain cases of fraud, but not when the customer is tricked into authorizing fraudulent transactions.
“Chase says it is working with the bank the scammer used to get the money back.
But the scammer has likely already withdrawn the money, meaning Grimes is back to square one in her quest to save for a new home.”
Don’t miss a beat – Subscribe to receive email alerts straight to your inbox
Check price action
follow us on TweetFacebook and Telegram
Surf to the Daily Hodl mix
Generated image: Midjourney
