MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Mayfield Heights police are investigating after a scammer tricked a Northeast Ohio woman into transferring $6,000 from her bank and undressing on FaceTime to "verify her identity."
The incident began at around noon on July 23, when a woman received a call from what she believed was the Huntington Bank customer service line.
Police say that the alleged customer service representative advised her of a "potential fraudulent charge pending on her account and that she would have to move funds into a different account to avoid her money being stolen."
As a result, the woman gave her numbers to a Chase Bank debit card.
Shortly after, the woman went to Huntington Bank in Mayfield Heights and withdrew $6,000 from her account. At around 1:15 p.m., she went to Chase Bank and deposited $6,000 onto her debit card.
After returning home, the woman received a FaceTime call from the same person who previously alleged they worked for Huntington Bank.
"It should be noted that the caller did not have their camera turned on and proceeded to ask [the woman] to screenshare her device with him. The caller then asked [the woman] to provide them with a full body scan to verify her identity due to a failed transaction," said Mayfield Heights police in a report.
The woman told Mayfield Heights police that at this time, she "undressed and spun in circles on FaceTime to 'verify her identity.'"
After hearing laughing before ending the FaceTime call, the woman realized she had been scammed and went to Chase Bank in Lyndhurst to attempt to remove funds from the account.
However, it was successful and the woman lost $6,000 due to the incident.
