I’m so mad at myself, I fell for the dumbest scam ever. Before you read this, just know that I was really, really dumb.
3 young men approached me in Washington Mews (that cute little european looking street by Washington Square Park) asking for a donation for their youth basketball club. I opened up my bank app and asked for their Zelle info. One of them tells me he’ll type it himself and takes my phone. At this point, alarm bells should have been going off, but they didn’t. The other two are distracting me with conversation.
The first guy then tells me Zelle didn’t work, and to use PayPal. The exact same thing happens where I open the app, ask for their info, and he takes my phone, saying he’ll do it instead.
Finally, he hands my phone back, and it’s turned off. He says that it just shut off on its own, and they leave. Once my phone turns back on, I see Zelle and Paypal payments to an external account totalling $4000. I was devastated.
I feel like such an idiot. There were so many obvious signs looking back. And why the hell did I give a stranger access to my banking app?! Genuinely shocked at myself. I know I can be gullible, but this really takes the cake.
Should I report this to the police? Not that I think they can do much about it, but should I so they can be on the lookout? (I have also already reported the charges as fraud to my bank)
submitted by /u/humbledaikon
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