CHICAGO (CBS) – A Chicago lawyer says a stranger used her bank information to help himself get thousands of dollars.
One expert told CBS 2 how this could happen and how others can protect themselves from victimization.
Ebony Lucas was shocked to discover several charges that had nothing to do with her law firm’s bank account.
“We have charges related to filing with the county,” she said. “We have charges related to reporting to the sheriff.”
She wondered where the thousands of dollars in home renovation costs came from. As the real estate attorney investigated, she noticed names like “McNary” in the description of some of the unauthorized charges.
“I was like, ‘Let me just see if this is anyone who’s ever emailed me,’” Lucas said.
And she found an email to Mr. McNary, which was part of a September 2023 house sale that never went through. Lucas said that when she sent him routing instructions with her law firm’s full routing and bank account numbers, “he disappeared.”
Three days later, McNary charged Lucas for his vehicle.
Bill Kresse, better known as “Professor Fraud,” who teaches at Governors State University in the south suburbs, said, “You can do a lot with that little bit of information.”
“The easiest way to find out the bank routing number and your account number is through a check,” Kresse said.
A stranger can get someone’s routing and account information from those little numbers on the bottom of your check and then pay a bill.
“Tree!” Kresse said. ‘That’s all you need. They can process that payment as if they had received a paper check.”
So, short of never writing a check again, how can people protect themselves?
Professor Fraud suggests signing up for bank alerts.
“Tell them, ‘If you see checks for this amount,’ or whatever criteria the bank allows you to use, you can use that,” Kresse said. “Then you immediately get a warning and let the bank know: ‘No, that is a fraudulent check.’ [or] fraudulent transfer. Don’t go through with it. ”
If someone doesn’t act immediately, they could end up like Lucas. Chase Bank denied some of her fraud claims, in part because the transactions she said she failed to make were months old.
“The banks see it this way: if you freely gave someone your information, then there is no guilt on their part,” Kresse said. “They’re just doing their job.”
Lucas said she couldn’t believe how easy it was for someone to use her information and steal her money. She is still fighting to get her law firm’s money back.
To prevent even more surprising transactions, the bank details she needs for home sales are now provided to trusted customers by telephone.
Kresse’s other big piece of advice is to check your bank account a few times a week, even if that means taking a quick look to make sure your balance looks good.
CBS 2 was able to contact the man mentioned on a number of Lucas’ bank transactions the first part of this story.
