Denver Woman Fights Bank to Recover $7,363 Stolen by Scammers

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A Denver resident, Megan Holt, recently succeeded in reclaiming $7,363 from her bank, SoFi, after scammers drained her high-yield savings account. Initially, SoFi ruled the transactions as legitimate, stating that there were no signs of hacking, despite Holt's assertion that the transfers were unauthorized. According to Holt, 19 friend-to-friend transfers were made in one night to an unknown recipient.

Dan Vedra, a consumer protection attorney, explained that the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) protects consumers from unauthorized transactions, placing liability on financial institutions in such cases. However, the increasing volume of fraud cases has overwhelmed banks, causing legitimate claims to be overlooked, Vedra noted.

Following persistent inquiries, SoFi revisited the case and ultimately issued Holt a payment of $7,800, which included her lost funds plus interest. Holt urged other consumers to understand their rights and act swiftly when faced with fraud, as they may only have a limited window to dispute unauthorized transactions under the EFTA.

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