CLEVELAND — Update: Huntington Bank responds
The News 5 Investigators have been hearing from additional Huntington Bank customers saying they’ve been victims of big-time fraud. We’re following through on our initial report with the largest case we’ve heard of so far.
Charlotte Perkins from Cleveland owns a security guard business. Her own finances needed some security after she said she got a call from what appeared to be Huntington Bank.
“They tell me that someone’s trying to take some money out of my account,” said Perkins about the call.
She said the whole thing didn’t sound legitimate, so she hung up and called her bank. She told us Huntington said her accounts were fine and nothing had been withdrawn. However, the next day $98,000 was gone from her business account.
WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?
“I was just devastated when I was in that office and found out that the money had been taken out,” said Perkins.
She told us she found out the money went to an account with a financial business called Santander in Florida. She said Huntington told her it’s not their fault.
“And I’m like, well, how could you not be liable when I called you before any money had been taken out of my account?” said Perkins.
ANOTHER FRAUD CASE
Christina Derrow from Navarre knows that feeling of loss. “All the fingers were pointing at me and I didn’t do a thing wrong,” said Derrow.
In late June, she checked her personal savings account, and about $6,700 was missing all of a sudden, basically her life savings.
“I thought this can’t be,” said Derrow. “I mean, I’m on Social Security…living from month to month. I’m saving money in case anything went wrong with my house, my health or my car.”
The money went to a Cash App account under the name Alejandro.
She told us Huntington said she approved it. However, she doesn’t know Alejandro or even what Cash App is and never approved anything.
Both Perkins and Derrow knew about our previous story on fraud problems with Huntington accounts.
“When you saw that, what did you think?” we asked Perkins.
“I said let me call (the News 5 Investigators),” she replied.
WATCH THE INITIAL STORY:
RELATED: $12K gone! Where did this woman's bank money go, and could it happen to you?
WHAT ARE THE COMPANIES SAYING?
We called Huntington again. A representative told us he was working on our interview request. (see update below)
In the end, Huntington refunded Derrow’s $6,700. She’s relieved but still upset by Huntington’s initial response.
“I wasn’t sleeping at night,” said Derrow. “I’d been getting up at 2, 3 o’clock in the morning, one o’clock in the morning. I’ve been drained over all of it.”
For Perkins, Cleveland Police told us they’re “actively investigating” her case now more than a year later.
Since News 5 got involved, Santander told us to have Perkins contact the company. Perkins said Huntington also reached out to her, but she still waits for her hard-earned money to be returned.
“I’m a victim,” said Perkins. “I’m a victim from the person who took the money. I am a victim from Santander…and from Huntington.”
Huntington Bank would not do an on-camera interview but sent a statement two days after our report first published:
"We understand that fraud and scam situations can be extremely stressful and frustrating for customers, and we are committed to working directly with customers who report fraud to thoroughly review their circumstances and help resolve matters as quickly as possible. Fraud and scam tactics continue to evolve across the industry, which is why we encourage customers to remain vigilant, never share one-time passcodes, account credentials or any other sensitive information. Fraudsters may try to impersonate Huntington Bank or other financial institutions. We will never ask for your login ID or password or send unexpected links or software to secure your account.
If you receive a suspicious phone call, email or text claiming to be Huntington asking for confidential information or money, do not reply and call us directly.
Protecting our customers and their accounts remains a top priority. While we cannot comment on specific customer accounts in order to protect customer privacy, we work diligently to investigate reported concerns and pursue appropriate resolution based on the facts of each situation."
