Local bank helps stop email, wire scam

Staff report

CANFIELD

Bank officials were able to prevent a fraudulent wire transfer associated with a scam last month.

Farmers National Bank, 30 S. Broad St., began receiving emails from a client the morning of Feb. 3. The client has two business accounts with Farmers, a business checking account and a business money-market account.

According to a police report, the first email wanted to know the balances of the accounts and a follow-up email was for a wire transfer of $6,500 to a US Bank in St. Paul, Minn.

The suspect’s name was redacted from the police report because no one has been charged in the case.

A Farmers employee processed the wire transfer and the emailer signed it, forging the client’s name. Farmers’ loan department contacted the client to follow up and found out the transfer was fraudulent.

Farmers and US Bank were able to stop the transfer and return the money to the client by Feb. 7.

A Minnesota FBI office began an investigation into the case, discovering the US Bank account has been used as a front for a scam and the original account holder has lost $30,000.