‘It can happen to anybody’: Business owner loses almost $3K in Zelle scam

Action 9 has reported that scammers are tricking customers through the money service Zelle.

Some are using texts asking for personal information that look like they’re from your bank. But others are finding new ways to scam people.

Andre Khatchaturian told WFXT a client reached out to his Instagram page for his production business, asking him to edit a birthday video for her daughter. It was a $300 job.

“She was older and less tech-savvy,” Khatchaturian told WFXT. “So I’m like, ‘OK, it’s a simple job, whatever, I’ll do it.’”

It turns out that the client was very savvy. Khatchaturian said she sent him $3,000 instead of $300.

“And then she apologizes and says, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. I sent you $3,000. Can you send me the difference back?’”

Khatchaturian said he agreed, but only after her check cleared. Once he saw it in his account, he told WFXT he sent her $2,700 through Zelle.

He said five says later, the check she sent him bounced.

“That’s when I realized, ‘Oh, I’ve been scammed,’” Khatchaturian said. “After I realized I had been scammed, the person had gone dark on Instagram. That user could not be found -- it deleted everything.”

Khatchaturian said he believed the scammer hacked into someone else’s account to send him the videos he edited.

The return address on the bounced check was a landscaping company. He told WFXT he found out the company was linked to a scam when he eventually ran a Google search.

“I still feel very embarrassed, only told a few people around me,” Khatchaturian said.

He said he did tell his bank, though.

“They came out and said that ‘there’s nothing we can do because you willingly sent the money to the scammer,’” he said.

Zelle and banks offer fraud protection for unauthorized transactions, but not for authorized ones. However, a federal law -- the Electronic Fund Transfer Act -- does offer another layer of protection called “Regulation E.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says if someone induced you into transferring the money, even if technically speaking, you agreed to it, your bank has to reimburse you.

Khatchaturian told WFXT he pointed out the regulation to his bank, but still hasn’t gotten his money back. He has a warning for other independent contractors.

“When people think of getting scammed, you think of maybe elderly people who aren’t as tech-savvy getting scammed,” he said. “I’m 32 years old, and I got scammed. It can happen to anybody, these guys are getting smarter.”

Khatchaturian’s bank, Bank of America, said it cautions customers about accepting checks or sending money to people they don’t know. And though the bank tries to get money back in cases like this, there’s no guarantee.

(WATCH BELOW: Majority of people who told Action 9 they fell for Zelle scam bank with Wells Fargo)

Majority of people who told Action 9 they fell for Zelle scam bank with Wells Fargo

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