A Houston woman thought she was protecting her money when she received a fraud alert text. Instead, she lost everything.
HOUSTON — A Houston woman says a scam so convincing it appeared to come from her bank, and the FBI, ended with her entire life savings gone.
Diane Fendley says it started with what looked like a routine fraud alert text message. The text claimed to be from the Wells Fargo Fraud Department and asked if she had attempted a charge at Walmart. When Fendley replied “no,” she says the messages quickly escalated.
“They were telling me that they were doing an investigation on this branch, that there’s been fraud for the last three months. They told me I needed to get to the bank and take care of my money,” Fendley said.
Soon after, Fendley received a phone call from someone claiming to be with the FBI. The caller told her that her Wells Fargo branch was under investigation and even sent her a letter on official FBI letterhead.
“They said they wanted me to pull out $20,000,” Fendley said. That was her life savings.
Fendley says the scammers kept her on the phone as she went to the bank, moved the money from her savings account into checking, and withdrew the cash. Then, they instructed her to cross the street to a Chase Bank.
“They said, ‘Now we need you to go to Chase Bank and don’t go into the bank. Just go through the drive‑through,’” she said.
According to Fendley, the scammers opened a Chase account, added it to her digital wallet, and gave her a four‑digit code to deposit the money at an ATM. Moments later, everything disappeared.
“All of a sudden everything was wiped out. The card was gone. The Chase card was gone,” Fendley said. The account vanished from her phone.
“I was sick, just pure sick, because I realized what just happened to me,” Fenley said.
Erin West, founder of Operation Shamrock, an organization that fights scams, says government impersonation scams are among the most effective and dangerous fraud schemes.
“There is such an urgency attached to these scams that people are lured into making quick decisions that result in a lot of money getting stolen,” West said.
West says people should never trust unsolicited texts or calls, even if they appear to come from a bank or law enforcement.
“We can’t expect anything coming into our phone that we didn’t ask for to direct us to an honest platform,” West said. Her advice: Do not respond to fraud alert texts. Instead, contact your bank directly using the phone number on your card or official website. And if someone claims to be with the FBI, verify it yourself.
“If you believe the FBI is reaching out to you,” West said, “you should contact your local field office and confirm it independently.”
Fendley has filed reports with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Trade Commission, and the FBI. She says sharing her story is painful, but necessary.
“I want people to know there are scammers out there who are so clever,” she said. “They did me in.” The FBI has issued multiple alerts about scammers impersonating federal agents, stressing that agents will never ask for money, gift cards, wire transfers, or ATM deposits. If you believe you are being targeted, authorities say to hang up immediately and report it.
Click here to report scams to the FBI.
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