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PNC Bank blamed in federal lawsuit for jewelry store funds getting drained by cyber thieves
It took nearly 40 years for the owners of Joyce’s Jewelry to build it into one of Uniontown’s most prominent small businesses.
The family says about $1.6 million — decades of accumulated wealth — vanished in less than 24 hours when cybercriminals tapped into the company’s bank accounts at PNC Bank.
A lawsuit filed by Joyce’s Jewelry in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh in October accuses PNC Bank of failing to “keep its hard-earned money safe.” It says the bank failed to notify Joyce’s of unusual banking activity in its accounts and failed to freeze the accounts while the fraud was occurring.
“The defendant’s failures here are stark and should shock and frighten small business customers who believe their accounts and accumulated savings are secure with PNC,” the lawsuit said.
The family says about $1.6 million — decades of accumulated wealth — vanished in less than 24 hours when cybercriminals tapped into the company’s bank accounts at PNC Bank.
A lawsuit filed by Joyce’s Jewelry in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh in October accuses PNC Bank of failing to “keep its hard-earned money safe.” It says the bank failed to notify Joyce’s of unusual banking activity in its accounts and failed to freeze the accounts while the fraud was occurring.
“The defendant’s failures here are stark and should shock and frighten small business customers who believe their accounts and accumulated savings are secure with PNC,” the lawsuit said.
- snip -
The issue has caught the attention of Congress.
In April, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., opened an investigation of Zelle, a digital payment service linked to users’ bank accounts, after numerous reports indicated Zelle is a preferred tool of fraudsters and bad actors who abuse its instantaneous transfers. The report found banks are not repaying customers in the majority of cases they were induced into making payments on Zelle.
According to Ms. Warren’s report released in September, PNC Bank reported that the number of fraud and scam claims from customers increased from 8,848 in 2020, to more than 12,300 in 2022. PNC Bank also indicated that in 2021 and the first six months of 2022, its customers reported 10,683 cases of unauthorized payments totaling over $10.6 million.
The bank told congressional investigators that only 1,495 of those customers were refunded a total of $1.46 million. “PNC Bank left 86% of its customers that reported cases of fraud without recourse for fraudulent activity that occurred on Zelle,” the report said.
In April, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., opened an investigation of Zelle, a digital payment service linked to users’ bank accounts, after numerous reports indicated Zelle is a preferred tool of fraudsters and bad actors who abuse its instantaneous transfers. The report found banks are not repaying customers in the majority of cases they were induced into making payments on Zelle.
According to Ms. Warren’s report released in September, PNC Bank reported that the number of fraud and scam claims from customers increased from 8,848 in 2020, to more than 12,300 in 2022. PNC Bank also indicated that in 2021 and the first six months of 2022, its customers reported 10,683 cases of unauthorized payments totaling over $10.6 million.
The bank told congressional investigators that only 1,495 of those customers were refunded a total of $1.46 million. “PNC Bank left 86% of its customers that reported cases of fraud without recourse for fraudulent activity that occurred on Zelle,” the report said.
- more at link -
This is concerning. Isn't our money safe in American banks? Isn't that why the government created the FDIC?
