‘I’m not calm’: Woman says someone stole $900,000 out of her bank account

HARRISBURG, N.C. — A Harrisburg woman says someone stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her by repeatedly transferring money out of her bank account over seven months.

“These were international wires that were sent to China,” Valerie Bocz said. She showed Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke various bank statements. “I’m not calm. In fact, my health is suffering.”

She says she had extra money in her account because she had just sold a cabin in Georgia and that her losses were huge.

“Right around $900,000,” she said. “This is the most stressful environment that I’ve ever been in.”

And she doesn’t say that lightly. She says she worked in finance and even cyber security and can only assume someone got her information on the dark web. “This is no man’s land for me. This is unknown ground,” she said.

She doesn’t think someone hacked into her bank, PNC. She thinks someone must have gotten her personal information and accessed her money that way. She says PNC closed her accounts, so the wires stopped. But she assumes the money is gone forever.

She reported it to all sorts of agencies, including North Carolina’s Attorney General, the U.S. Justice Department, and the U.S. Treasury Department.

Stoogenke contacted PNC by phone and email. It wouldn’t comment for privacy reasons.

Advice from Action 9:

If someone hacks your bank account, the bank may be held responsible. But if someone gets your personal information -- like it appears in this case -- you may be out the money. All the more reason to:

- Keep a close eye on your accounts.

- Address problems early.

- Be careful who you share your personal information with.

- Use challenging passwords.

- Use two-factor authentication.

- Freeze your credit. It wouldn’t have helped here but it can prevent other financial nightmares.

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