Hacker challenges local news station to help CA victim in taunting letter (youtube.com)
‘Your good credit makes you an easy target.’ The envelope was ‘stuffed full of highly detailed, highly sensitive information and a screenshot of the guy from a zoom call.’ The hacker opened a bank account with SoFi in the name of this guy, he said. The guy checked and yep, the bank had him on record for taking out a $52k loan, which he disputed.
The bank investigated and the same day notified him of ‘no fraud.’ He filed a second claim and the bank refused to investigate, saying it was a frivolous claim. It seems SoFi also didn't do any credit inquiry, a standard policy for approving loans.
SoFi said they ‘see no proof of third-party fraudulent activity and no proof of identity theft ... We will not be relieving Mr. Harto of the responsibilities he committed to upholding when he personally applied for and accepted the personal loan.’ How can you prove identity theft?
ABC7 contacted SoFi to ask what evidence it used to identify the person who applied for that loan. They said some man called and identified himself as the guy and the voice recordings matched, but SoFi didn't provide the results of any voice recognition software. SoFi said they also had video of the guy verifying himself with the guy holding the license up to a camera with his face in the frame. The guy then realized it was his brother, who looked like him and who he let use his computer, his debit card, and his cell phone, and had access to his driver's licence. When the guy called and questioned his brother if he had anything to do with it, the brother said, “Do I need to get a lawyer?” His brother later came clean to the guy. The brother also later did a video call to ABC7 to admit everything publicly and try to help the guy, saying he wasn't a criminal and made a mistake after getting caught up in a crypto scam or something.
The bank then softened its stance and let the guy file a new claim.
Since 911 there's been a ‘know your customer’ law requiring banks in the US to verify identity when a new account is opened, but SoFi does their new accounts over the internet. How secure can online banking really be? You send them a scan of your government ID and do a photo/video of yourself.
...