CASH WOES
‘There was no money,’ cries Chase customer who suddenly found $30k gone – she was paying for a car she never bought
She did not leave it up to the police, taking matters into her own hands
A CHASE Bank customer has been left with no money to pay her employees after a stream of fraudulent activity on her account.
Ebony Lucas, a Chicago, Illinois real estate attorney, is no stranger to keeping tabs on her financial information and helping clients to secure homes.
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"I am a real estate attorney, so I help people when they're buying and selling homes," Lucas told CBS 2.
She has frequent transactions coming in and out of her business account from her job, and as a result, tries to remain vigilant.
Despite her responsible nature, one slip-up cost her nearly $30,000.
As she went to complete payroll for her firm's employees, she noticed a number of debits from her business account that resulted in a complete lack of funds.
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"I went to do payroll, there was no money and I was like, 'What happened?'" Lucas said.
On top of her transactions, the attorney immediately clocked the transactions as fraudulent and contacted the authorities.
She immediately filed a fraud claim with Chase Bank and contacted the police, but wasted no time in investigating the matter for herself.
LAWYER TURNED DETECTIVE
According to Lucas, she traced the first set of charges to Flagship Credit.
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Her next step in calling the creditors revealed that the charges were linked to car payments and the name McNary.
On a whim, Lucas decided to see if she had any connections to a McNary.
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"I was like, 'Let me just check and see if this is anybody that's ever emailed me,'" she explained.
Just under a year ago, in September of 2023, the lawyer had a client by the name of Mr. McNary.
He was part of a home sale that did not go through, but he made off with a good amount of information.
As part of the deal, Lucas' firm had given this McNary bank account numbers and routing numbers for a wire transfer of funds, but when it came time to put through that transaction, the customer ghosted them and "disappeared."
[I] said, 'Hi, this is Ebony Lucas. You've been stealing money out of my bank account.
Ebony Lucas
It was only three days later that the first fraudulent charges were initiated.
"Three days later, he charged my account for his vehicle," Lucas said.
Not to stop while on a roll, the attorney took more initiative and reached out to the ex-client.
"So I found a phone number, gave him a call, and said, 'Hi, this is Ebony Lucas. You've been stealing money out of my bank account,'" she recounted.
According to Lucas, the man agreed to "wire or transfer the funds" back to her, even once setting up a meeting time at Chase Bank, but once again ghosting her.
The original reporting source reached out to McNary, who confirmed his name, responding to the team's addresses of "Mr. McNary."
He later called back, asking for proof that his name was attached to the transactions and to deny McNary being his name.
UNWITTING PARTICIPANT
The alleged perpetrator, McNary, was not the only person connected to the multi-thousand dollar theft.
Aside from the car payments, other transactions from Discover, Home Depot, and Floor and Décor, totaling around $12,000, also were discovered.
Alongside these revelations, another name surfaced of a woman who has declined to be named.
Bank tips for avoiding scams
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions - be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to "never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first."
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
She explained that she had been completely in the dark about McNary's alleged transgressions, believing him to be spending his own money on her.
"I was working on a project," she said.
"And he was the general contractor for me working on that project."
Not only was he a contractor, but McNary also began a relationship with the woman, who eventually allowed him to plug in his own payment information into her Home Depot account.
"Because [he] and I were in a relationship, he said, 'I'll just help you pay for it. Don't worry about it. I have money," the woman recalled.
She thought he was just being nice, but in reality, he was stealing from one woman to finance another's renovations.
For her part, Lucas is still fighting for her money, having filed a lawsuit to pursue a reconciliation of funds.
Chase Bank will not directly comment on the status of Lucas' claim.
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"We are working closely with our customer to dispute these charges on their behalf," they shared in a comment.
"Consumers should regularly monitor their account statements for suspicious transactions and notify us right away by calling the number on the back of their debit card. To learn how to securely add and manage payees, visit chase.com/security."