A member came in requesting a $9,000 cash withdrawal. She initially worked with one of our tellers, who asked standard questions about the purpose of such a large cash withdrawal. After this, the member stepped outside to make a phone call, then returned and asked the assistant branch manager (ABM) to process the withdrawal instead. The ABM asked more in-depth questions. The member was vague in her responses, appeared nervous, avoided eye contact, and became somewhat standoffish. Sensing that something was not right, the ABM brought the situation to me and said, “I don’t feel comfortable doing this. I believe this is a scam.”
Given his concerns, I asked the ABM to have the member come to my office. When I asked her what the money was for and why she needed that much cash, she looked up at the ceiling and said, “He told me not to say anything.” When I asked who she meant, she explained that she had been speaking with Apple, who then transferred her — on a “secured line” — to a TruPartner location in California. I informed her that this was a scam and explained that TruPartner does not have a location in California. As I was explaining this, I heard a click on her phone. I then realized that she had the fake TruPartner representative (the scammer) on the line the entire time we were talking. Huge shout-out to our teller and ABM for recognizing something did not seem right and speaking up. Their awareness and willingness to ask tough questions likely saved our member $9,000.
