FANNETT, Texas — A scam cost a Fannett businessman thousands of dollars, and now, he is warning the Southeast Texas community so no one else falls prey.
“Be aware, and be on guard,” Byron Barge, owner of Byron’s RV Repair LLC, said.
November 2, 2022 is a day that Barge will never forget. It all began when he started receiving text alerts that he believed were from his bank, Wells Fargo.
“A representative will be in touch with you from the fraud department,” Barge said. “Sure enough phone rang, and, ‘This is Wells Fargo with the fraud department.’”
Barge then answered a phone call, where someone on the other end asked him security questions. The caller also asked questions about his account information.
The texts and calls Barge received read as his bank, so when he gave his security codes, he thought he was being taken care of. The entire incident turned out to be a scam.
“They got me for somewhere in the neighborhood of $45 - $48,000,” Barge said. “I contacted several people, Jefferson County, the FBI, and other credit bureaus.”
Liz Fredrichs is the president of the Southeast Texas Better Business Bureau. She believes people can leave themselves vulnerable to these cyber-attacks when they are not aware of just how the attacks can happen.
“We were seeing more bank fraud, and it was coming through text messages,” Fredrichs said. “Not necessarily phone calls. It could have been a phone call too. They will always appear to be the local bank number because they are spoofing it.”
For the last two weeks, Barge has been in disputes with Wells Fargo. He said he may look into legal action since the bank will not return his money.
Overall. Barge is just disheartened this happened.
“I feel let down,” Barge said. “I work hard every day. All that money was my blood, sweat, and tears. Time away from my family that I could have done things with them, and somebody just walks in the door and takes it. They didn't even walk in the door they did it online.”
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