NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — There's an alarming scam targeting Navy Federal customers in our area. Someone takes out a loan in a customer's name, and they're left out to dry and forced to pay it back, police say.
News 3 investigative reporter Margaret Kavanagh has reported extensively on the issue. She learned criminals target the military and young people in parking lots around the region, ask to use their phones, then access their accounts.
While following up on the issue, we met another person who fell victim to the scam.
Angel Taylor says in March 2023, she was approached by a frantic man in a Newport News Walmart parking lot who said he lost his wife. He asked Taylor if he could borrow her phone.
"[He had] a baby in his back seat and he was crying too," said Taylor. "I was like, 'Yes, you can borrow my phone.'"
Watch previous coverage: Scam targeting Navy Federal customers costing victims thousands in Hampton Roads
This was a $4,000 mistake. Taylor, who was 19 at the time, says the man took out a personal loan and a cash advance while using her Navy Federal App then transferred the money to someone else.
"It’s just unbelievable. I didn’t even know you could apply for a loan. It was just insane that it happened in such a small amount of time," said Taylor.
She says she immediately spoke to a representative with Navy Federal and asked to put a stop to these transactions.
"She was like, 'Well, I’m not going to stop the transaction. We have to wait until it posts for you to submit a fraudulent report,'" Taylor recalled.
However, Taylor says after submitting that report, she was found at fault by Navy Federal and was told she had to pay back the money.
"I literally called them two or three minutes after this happened," said Taylor.
Watch previous coverage: WTKR viewer surprises Navy Federal crime victim with a check
What’s even more shocking is in her Navy Federal app, Taylor could see the name of the person who received the stolen funds, along with the last four digits of their account number.
"This man got a loan and transferred this money to another Navy Federal member in... 50-something seconds. It's unbelievable he could do that in such a short time," said Shelesha Taylor, Angel's mother.
She called Newport News police who filed a report. They shared the following comment with News 3: “It appears that after looking into all available evidence, including speaking to Navy Federal, Ms. Taylor and looking for any available surveillance video, the investigating officer did not feel he had the probable cause to charge anyone in this incident.”
Shelesha Taylor says she doesn't think Navy Federal did enough to help her daughter in the situation.
"I think there were a number of systems that failed my daughter, a number of systems that are supposed to protect her. They all failed her. But Navy Federal was the worst because they had what they needed to find out who did this to her," she said.
Angel Taylor isn't the only one who's been financially impacted by the scam: Another victim we spoke with, Travis Minson, was forced to pay back a personal loan he didn’t take out himself.
Our investigation revealed there have been dozens of cases like Taylor's and Minson's across Hampton Roads. In these cases, victims told police they were approached by scammers who asked to use their phone and then accessed their accounts.
"If these people hadn't ignored what happened to Angel then maybe there wouldn't be so many people who are victims of this very same crime," said Shelesha Taylor.
Navy Federal says it’s their policy to only speak about account-specific information with those listed on the account. They sent us a statement saying they utilize industry standards when it comes to account access and security. They say they also take extensive steps to try and educate members on how to avoid these kinds of scams and theft. They say they have a partnership in place with the Cybercrime Support Network, which regularly distributes content and participates in interviews on a variety of topics, including the prevention of phishing attacks, tax scams, and password safeguards.
"We can only disclose account specific questions and procedures to the member on the impacted account.
Navy Federal does work closely with local law enforcement when our members report fraudulent or criminal activity on their account.
Navy Federal continues to provide ongoing education around fraud prevention and tips to avoid scams. All of us must remain vigilant in the fight against fraud and scams.
We are aware of these kinds of events and are committed to continuously enhancing our technology to protect our members."
-Statement from Navy Federal
Navy Federal also sent us a list of links with educational information to prevent this from happening, available here.
However, Angel says the Navy Federal's efforts to raise awareness aren't enough.
"The way that Navy Federal is handling it, the way that they haven’t addressed what’s going on to me and many other people, they're kind of just ignoring the problem. It makes you not feel secure banking with them," said Angel Taylor.
Portsmouth police said they’ve seen similar cases at other credit unions as well.
Authorities say the most important message of all of this is this: treat your phone like it’s your wallet and don’t let anyone access your phone that you don’t know.
