A CBS Philadelphia anchor says scammers stole $7,000 from his bank account after a caller pretended to work for PNC’s fraud department.
Siafa Lewis said the call sounded legitimate because the person on the line claimed there was suspicious activity on his account. He had received real fraud-related calls from his bank before, so the warning did not immediately seem unusual.
The scheme turned on a one-time six-digit code sent to his phone.
After Lewis shared that code, scammers were able to access his account and move money through Zelle.
The Call Started With a Fake Fraud Warning
CBS Philadelphia reported that Lewis received a call from someone claiming to work in PNC’s fraud department.
The caller said there was suspicious activity on his account and asked him to verify whether certain transactions were legitimate.
Lewis said the person sounded convincing and appeared to have information about his account, which made the call feel more credible than a random scam attempt.
The Scammers Needed the Authentication Code
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Lewis said he never knowingly provided sensitive banking information.
The caller asked him to confirm a six-digit authentication code that had been sent to his phone. That code was supposed to protect the account from unauthorized access.
Lewis later said he believes the scammers may have already had his username and password, but still needed the one-time code to get past the bank’s security step.
Once Lewis read the code, the scammers had what they needed to complete the login or transaction process.
The Money Was Sent Out Through Zelle
After the account was accessed, Lewis said the scammers used Zelle to move $7,000 out of his account. He discovered the loss when he logged in and saw the transfers. The money moved quickly once the scammers were inside.
Lewis described the moment as immediate panic after seeing the activity and realizing the call had not been from his bank.
Lewis Reported the Scam After Seeing the Transfers
Lewis reported the incident to PNC, local police, and the FBI. He said he is still trying to recover the money and remains hopeful because he did not authorize the Zelle transfers.
PNC told CBS Philadelphia that it takes fraud allegations seriously and reviews them under regulatory guidelines.
The bank also warned customers to be alert to social engineering schemes, where scammers manipulate victims into giving access rather than breaking into an account by force.
One-Time Codes Are Not Meant To Be Read to a Caller
A bank may send a code to confirm a login, password reset, device enrollment, Zelle action, or other account change. If a caller asks for that code, the safest assumption is that the caller is trying to get past the account’s security system.
Zelle warns that scammers may use a one-time passcode to enroll their own bank account with a victim’s phone number or email address. Once that happens, money the victim thinks is being protected or moved safely can go directly to the scammer.
People who receive an unexpected bank fraud call should hang up and call the bank directly using the number on the back of a debit card, bank statement, or official website.
Suspected bank impersonation fraud should be reported immediately to the bank’s fraud department. Victims can also report the incident to local police, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov, and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.