By: John Matarese , Emily Hanford-Ostmann

Kenny Sumner, a heating and cooling technician, was in the middle of a job when his phone showed an incoming call from what appeared to be his bank's fraud department.

"They said we are trying to stop a wire transfer from going through from your account," Sumner said.

RELATED STORY | Banks, FBI warn of rise in scammers posing as employees to steal your money

Panicked, Sumner listened as the agent sent him a six-digit verification code and asked him to read it back.

The agent then told Sumner his account had been locked — but Sumner soon discovered what had actually happened

"I checked my account maybe half hour after, and I noticed the funds weren't in there. That's when I was like, something is really wrong," Sumner said.

Scammers had swiped $15,000 from his bank account.

Bank impersonation becoming more widespread

In a June report, The Federal Trade Commission warned that "some of the costliest impersonation scams start with a fake security alert, often from a bank."

The agency adds that people are convinced to move their money in order to "protect it."

Watch as a heating and cooling technician shows how easy it was to fall for a bank scam:

Fake bank call steals $15,000 from man's account

The FTC reports consumers lost $3.5 billion to impostor scams last year, with fake bank representatives among those targeting people's money.

The Bank Policy Institute, a nonpartisan public policy group, also reports that bank impersonation is surging.

From 2024 to 2025, it found the average number of identified scams per bank increased 150%.

Rise of AI-enhanced scams

Kimberly Palmer, a personal finance expert with NerdWallet, said artificial intelligence is making these somewhat familiar scams harder to detect.

"It's more important than ever for people to really be on guard any time you receive an incoming email, phone call, text message, to assume it's not who it claims to be," Palmer said.

Thomas Clayton, president and COO of the digital security company Aura, urges consumers to watch for the classic warning signs: pressure, urgency and secrecy.

RELATED STORY | Receive a warning from Facebook about your account? It's likely a scam

"If they're trying to tell you, 'don't tell any of your loved ones or family members,' or 'don't tell your bank,' or 'don't tell law enforcement,' massive red flag," he said.

Here's how to protect your money:

• Never share a verification code. Your bank will never ask for it.
• Never move money to "protect" it.
• If you get a call from your "bank," hang up and call the number on your card or statement.
• Know that scammers can spoof your bank's phone number. Don't trust the number in the caller ID.

Sumner's bank told us it is looking into his case, but has not been able to track down the $15,000.

"It's not easy," Sumner said. The money was supposed to help expand his small business.

"This is what I've been building on to get to the next step where the company needs to go," he said.

Sumner said he hopes his experience prevents others from falling for a fraudulent bank call, so you don't waste your money.

___________________________________

"Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").

Follow John:

• Facebook: John Matarese Money
• Instagram: @johnmataresemoney
• X/Twitter: @JohnMatarese

For more consumer news and money saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com