Thieves drain nearly $18K from NorCal couple's bank account using fake checks, online bill payment

MENDOCINO, Calif. (KGO) -- What if you stopped at an ATM for extra cash and discovered thousands of dollars missing from your account?

It happened to a Mendocino couple who found out someone had used their checking account to pay bills and printed fake checks.

How can that happen? 7 On Your Side got some answers and helped get their money back.

The couple was shocked to discover almost $18,000 missing from their checking account. Their statement shows three fake checks and 17 fraudulent charges. The bank didn't say how that happened -- but we found out how scammers might have pulled this off.

Nona Smith and her husband Art were enjoying a peaceful retirement in the seaside town of Mendocino -- until scammers upended their lives.

"It was definitely a mess. And it disrupted our lives," said Nona. "It was a terrible experience and made me very uncomfortable and mistrustful. My husband is 91."

"I feel vulnerable, that I'm being attacked and there's nothing I can do about it," Art said.

The trouble came to light after a night at the movies.

"We went to the ATM. It showed the balance. There was a lot of money missing," Nona said.

The couple discovered thousands of dollars missing from their Chase Bank checking account.

"We were horrified because we knew there was more money in there," she said. "So the next morning as soon as the bank opened we went there and spoke to the manager."

The couple closed the account right away, but what they saw was baffling.

Three checks they didn't write appeared on the statement.

One for $750, another for $4,870, and a third for $920.

The check images show the couple's account and routing numbers, but someone else's names and signatures.

Two checks were deposited by mobile apps, another possibly by ATM, bypassing a teller.

Not only that, the couple found 17 suspicious transactions on their account.
"Everything in yellow shade is what we were disputing," Nona said, showing 7 On Your Side the list.

"One online payment for $460, and another online payment for $192, couple of online payments for $101, here's one for $350, another one for $100... So it amounted to $11,421.18," Nona said.

The money went to a Verizon Wireless account, a Capital One credit card and a Wells Fargo credit card.

They said those accounts were not theirs.

"When we looked at our statement, and we saw Wells Fargo, we thought, we don't deal with Wells Fargo. Why is this on our statement here? Why is this money, huge amount of money taken out of our account?" she said.

Right away Chase refunded all three of the unauthorized checks totaling $6,450. But Nona says the bank required proof the other payments were fraud.

"Chase Bank was sending us to Wells Fargo. To get some letter of proof that we don't have an account with Wells Fargo. Well, Wells Fargo, of course, threw up their hands. They can't talk to us because we're not customers. And (the bank manager) says, well, maybe you should go to another Wells Fargo bank... but we live in the sticks. The nearest Wells Fargo is a 90 minute drive," Nona said.

Days later she says, the bank closed their claim.

"I was told, claim was closed because there's no corroborating evidence. I said like, what?" Nona said. "'You should file a police report.'"

"Mendocino doesn't have a police department," Art said. "So we had to go to the sheriff's office to meet with the sheriff's deputy. We met at a coffee shop. Explained the situation."

They got the sheriff's report but they say it didn't help.

"I was so frustrated. I was so unhappy. I felt dismissed, I felt like my money wasn't safe anymore," Nona said.

7 On Your Side heard from the couple and reached out to Chase Bank. A spokesperson did not address their complaints about the delayed claim -- or explain how someone got into their account.

However, Chase reviewed the disputed charges and did refund the rest of their money, telling us: "We worked directly with the customer and were able to credit them the full claim amount promptly after receiving accurate documentation."

"I am so grateful for 7 On Your Side for getting our money back, and if I could send 7 On Your Side flowers, I would," Nona said.

So how did someone hack their account?

Turns out the couple had just ordered new checks from a third party printing company. They had to mail a voided check for this order. Now they suspect someone along the way stole their account and routing numbers -- then attached them to online bill payments and fake checks. It's a lesson to guard your information. If you hand someone a check, it has all the information needed to hack an account. And new technology allows for anyone to remotely print up checks.

Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.

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