The Urgent Wire From a Long-Time Customer's New Phone
At 4:40 p.m., a caller says she is Dorothy Chen, a 78-year-old customer with a $52,000 CD that matured yesterday. The caller explains she has a new phone and moved out of state last week, so the branch should update her address and add “Summit Gold Reserve” as a wire payee for $14,500 before the 5:00 p.m. cut-off. She provides a correct date of birth and the last four digits of her Social Security number, but refuses to come in, saying she has mobility problems. She asks you not to call the old number because the landline is disconnected, and she becomes irritated when asked to verify a recent transaction. The account has no prior wires, a new address change was posted two days ago, and the daily wire limit is $10,000. She asks you to raise the limit “just this once.”
1. Identify the red flags and explain what verification is needed before any address change, limit increase, or wire.
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Red flags include: a new phone and address, an out-of-state move, a just-matured $52,000 CD, no prior wires, a new payee, a request to raise the limit, a 5:00 p.m. deadline, refusal to appear in person, refusal to allow a callback to the old number, irritation at verification, and reliance on weak identifiers-date of birth and last four SSN digits can be purchased. Do not rely on caller ID or voice recognition.
Before changing the address, raising the limit, or sending any wire, verify through an independent channel: call the number on file, not the number the caller provides; use a branch or video session with government ID and liveness checks; and contact a trusted contact if one is listed. Escalate to the branch manager and fraud team. The wire should not be sent until identity is satisfactorily established.
2. The caller demands the wire and says the bank will be liable if she loses an investment opportunity. What should you do?
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Stay calm and professional. Do not process the wire, the address change, or the limit increase while verification is unresolved. Explain that the bank must protect her account and that the request can be completed after verification, even if that means missing the 5:00 p.m. cut-off. Place appropriate alerts on the account, notify the fraud and BSA teams, and consider an elder-financial-exploitation review and a trusted-contact outreach. If the caller is an impostor, the real customer may be at risk. Document the demand and your refusal. If suspicious activity is confirmed, follow the bank's SAR procedures and remember the prohibition on tipping off the subject.
3. What should be documented and communicated to the customer and internal teams?
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Record the time of the call, the caller's statements, the number displayed, the verification attempts, the exact information requested, who was consulted, and the decision. Note that the address change and limit increase were not completed and why. Send the customer a written notice through the verified contact channel explaining that a request could not be verified and asking her to contact the branch. Internally, route the case to fraud, BSA, and privacy as appropriate. If a SAR is filed, do not disclose it to the customer or caller. Preserve recordings and system logs. Avoid accusing the caller; describe the facts and next steps.