A Texas man tragically passed away after falling victim to a scam that made him lose thousands of dollars. The incident unfolded after the 52-year-old got a call from a scammer posing to be a representative of his bank. The man got looted out of over 6 thousand dollars of his hard-earned money. The man passed away from a heart attack soon after learning that he had been scammed.
A Texas father named Paul Schendel received a call one day that changed his life. The man fell for the classic call-spoofing method that fraudsters seem to use to entrap innocent people. The person posing as a representative from Schendel’s bank was aware of a few details about his account.
The scarce details were enough to gain Schendel’s trust. The scammer then went on to warn the Texas father about the recent tricks people had been falling for. The same day, a woman posing as Wells Fargo security showed up at Schendel’s house and demanded his debit card.
Unaware of the fraud scheme, the man gave his card to the woman, who proceeded to cut it into pieces and put it in an envelope. When Paul went to his bank to ask for a new card, the dawning realization that he had been tricked hit him.
The Texas dad’s bank informed him that they do not communicate over calls and that he had definitely been scammed. Schendel was also told that it was highly unlikely that he would be reimbursed for the money he had lost. The man passed away the next day after suffering a heart attack.
PHISHING~the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable firms in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords & credit card numbers.
This is a phishing scam I received today. Wells Fargo confirmed they didn’t send it. pic.twitter.com/32lx5Y7G9B— Virginia-Texas (@dfwdallas) March 23, 2022
Karen Schendel, the late Texas man’s sister, told a local outlet how her brother had been suffering several health complications for over a year. He had been disabled after suffering a back injury and also suffered from diabetes.
Karen also told the outlet how she was certain her brother’s heart attack came due to the news of losing his life savings. “I have no doubt it contributed,” she noted.
The 52-year-old Texan was unfortunately one of the many who have fallen for the notorious activity. The other fraudulent activities have also unfolded in the same way. It begins with a stranger pretending to be a Wells Fargo employee who often shows up at a person’s doorstep.
A Chicago based hairstylist has lost her entire $20,000 savings following a sophisticated scam, authorities have named the Phantom Hacker.
The growing scam involves unscrupulous individuals posing as bank staff calling their victims and asking them to transfer their monies, to… pic.twitter.com/WVGqAmKnsJ
— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) January 16, 2025
A man named Scott Merovitch also fell for the same trick, which caused him to lose a significant amount of money. In May, he got a call from a scammer posing as a Wells Fargo employee. The scammer knew about Merovitich’s transaction activity spanning 10 days.
Scott lost $20,000 after he gave his card to a woman who showed up at his doorstep. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reveals how these fraud activities have increased from 20 times in 2019 to 2022.
