(Toledo News Now) - One woman was shocked to find her savings account was significantly withdrawn on through a text alert from her bank.
"I was at work, and I received a text message stating there had been two very significant withdrawals out of my savings account," she reported. "They withdrew over 10-thousand dollars from my account."
Kimberly asked that her last name not be used. With names, addresses, and social security numbers for sale on the black market, identity theft is made easier for criminals.
Police tell her someone used a drivers license with her name on it to withdraw the money at a bank branch in the state of Ill. Most banks require an account number and a valid drivers license for withdrawals - which the thieves apparently had.
Federal law requires banks to report 10-thousand dollar transactions, but Kimberly says the thieves skirted that by splitting the withdrawals up – one for 3-thousand dollars and the other for 7-thousand dollars.
"They only required one form of identification at that bank branch," she said. "All they used was a fake driver's license. And that, to me, was just shocking."
After investigations, Kimberly's bank did return most of the money to her account.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends people not only set up alerts to make sure you are informed of significant withdrawals but also set a limit for how much money can be withdrawn from your account. Kimberly added that you might want to spread your money into multiple accounts to reduce the risk of loss if someone were to steal your identity.
"It's emotional, it's scary," she said. "I have lost sleep over this!"
If you suspect someone may have stolen from your account the FTC says to: place a fraud alert on your credit file, consider a stronger credit "freeze", file a police report, alert your bank, and change passwords.
