$304,000 Vanishes From Wells Fargo Account After Businessman Falls Victim to Elaborate Identity Theft Scam: Report

A Georgia businessman is reportedly out hundreds of thousands of dollars after scammers drained funds from his Wells Fargo account.

An unnamed Decatur businessman appears to be the victim of identity theft after $304,000 was withdrawn from his Wells Fargo account by a woman he does not know, reports OnlineAthens.

Athens-Clarke police detectives are now investigating the suspected act of fraud.

Police say an unknown man, who was accompanied by a woman, entered a Wells Fargo branch in Athens, Georgia, on June 30th. The man pretended to be the businessman from Decatur and was able to sign a Wells Fargo document to give the woman joint access to the bank account.

The woman then used her cell phone on July 3rd to make bank transfers totaling $304,000 from out of the victim’s account into other bank accounts, according to police.

The victim says he does not recognize the woman and never gave her permission to open a joint account in his name or transfer any money.

According to Athens-Clarke Detective Blake Manning, who investigates financial and cyber crimes, Wells Fargo is assisting in the investigation by providing details of the transactions, which helped police figure out that the woman is a resident of Hampton, a neighborhood south of Atlanta.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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