Andy Cohen is a wildly beloved and successful talk show host, producer, and author, but now, he’s making headlines for a very different reason.
During an episode of “Breaking the Rules” podcast, Cohen explained how he was recently scammed out of a lot of money with just a phone call.
How Andy Cohen Got Scammed
Andy told his very personal and frustrating story on the podcast in great detail. He first explained that he received a phone call from someone claiming to work at his bank.
They told him that they were worried about fraudulent charges, and because he had recently lost his card, he was concerned and grateful for the call.
A Strange Sign-In Request
However, before the call, he received a fraud alert email, so he signed into his bank account. But things got a little strange as the site asked for his Apple ID and password, which Cohen said had never happened before.
Andy said he then “bailed out,” but because he had already logged in, the person on the phone now has direct access to his bank account.
Getting the Call
Shortly after, he received the phone call, and Cohen reported that the caller ID on his phone showed that the call was coming from his bank.
They started going through his recent charges, as any bank would, asking whether or not they were real purchases.
The Never-Ending Phone Call
Andy said that he talked to the woman on the phone for an hour and 10 minutes, stating that she just kept going through every charge. He even thanked her for her diligent attention to his potential problem.
But Andy later realized it wasn’t a dedicated employee from his bank; it was the hacker who already had access to his account since the strange sign-in.
Cohen Was Asked to Enter Numbers Into His Phone
Then, Cohen said that the woman on the phone told him “to enter numbers into [his] phone,” but after he did, a screen popped up that said that he had “set up call forwarding and message forwarding on [his] phone.”
Andy immediately took a screenshot of the message, thankfully as he would need it later to explain to his bank exactly what happened.
The Hacker Asked If Andy Wanted to Prosecute the Fraudulent Charges
The woman on the phone then told Andy that someone was trying to use his card at a Walmart in Minneapolis and asked if he wanted to prosecute the charge.
She then told him she was going to call back in 30 minutes, but during that 30 minutes, she stole his money.
How the Hacker Got Andy’s Money
After Andy hung up, he waited for what he thought was his bank to call him back. But during that time, the hacker initiated wire transfers to steal his money and send it to their own account.
And they were able to do so because they had forwarded calls from Andy’s personal phone to their own. So when the bank called to confirm the transfers, they gave his bank information that they already had and authorized the payouts.
Andy Noticed His Money Was Gone
Later that night, Andy noticed that a “lot of money” was gone from his two accounts connected to that bank.
Of course, he finally realized what had happened and immediately contacted his bank to tell him that he had been scammed.
Andy Cohen Is Working on Getting His Money Back
Andy reported during the podcast that, thankfully, he is in the process of getting his money back.
And although this situation was certainly incredibly frustrating, the good news is that the star has amassed quite a bit of wealth and will be just fine until it’s back in his account.
Telephone Bank Fraud Is on the Rise
While using banking apps is unquestionably convenient, the problem is that the saved login information is making it that much easier for hackers to access personal accounts.
In fact, over-the-phone bank fraud, just like what happened to Andy, is on the rise all over the world. People are calling customers, having them log in, and convincing them that they are, in fact, their bank since they have access to the customer’s personal information.
Avoid Phone Fraud by Contacting the Bank Directly
Andy said in the podcast that he wished he had hung up immediately and contacted his bank directly.
But luckily, because of his and many other similar stories, people now know that this is happening and that if someone gets a call from a person claiming to be a bank representative, the best thing to do is hang up and call the real bank right away.
