Sun City woman devastated after $16K worth of illegal wire transfers
Husband had emergency surgery on same day money was stolen.
SUN CITY, AZ (AZFamily)— A Sun City woman says she is distraught after she said a scammer stole $16,000 from her bank account through wire transfers.
Sandy Girard says Aug. 22 is a day she will never forget.
First, her husband was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery.
“He’s on life support as we speak, and it’s minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour and day-to-day,” Girard told On Your Side.
On that same day, another life-changing event occurred. Someone somehow accessed Girard’s Navy Federal Credit Union account and made two fraudulent wire transfers.
One charge was for just over $9,624, and a second transfer was for a very specific amount: $6,427.24. Girard immediately called Navy Federal.
“I was hysterical,” Girard said. “She (the representative) said someone called, stating they were you. I said, no, that is not me. I am not trying to do that. She said, okay, calm down.”
With her husband in the hospital and more than $16,000 taken from her account, Girard was far from calm. But the two wire transfers were still “pending” and had not gone through yet, so Girard was hopeful she had caught it in time.
However, she didn’t.
“The moment you see it coming out of your account, you called Navy Federal. You didn’t wait, like, a day or two days,” On Your Side’s Gary Harper said.
“No, no, no. It was mind-blowing. The moment that it happened, it was in-process. In-process!” Girard replied.
Girard filed a dispute with Navy Federal and contacted On Your Side.
We discovered consumers cannot stop domestic wire transfers sent from a bank or credit union, even though they’re considered “pending.”
On Your Side has also confirmed that Navy Federal is investigating, but it could take weeks to determine whether Girard gets her money back.
In the meantime, Girard says her life is a complete mess.
”I, I cannot believe this. I cannot believe this is happening,” she said.
On Your Side will stay on top of Navy Federal Credit Union’s investigation and follow up with a news report once they make a decision.
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