Four months after a retired Florida couple learned hackers had drained their bank account using the Venmo app, the company says it will reimburse the entire amount."We’re shocked because Alan, especially was doing an awful lot of work and calling a lot of people but you know, we never really thought that it would really happen – that we would ever get that money back," said a relieved Aviva Strum, holding hands with her husband. It's been a rough four months for the Boynton Beach couple since they learned hackers used the Venmo payment app to drain their Bank of America bank account."We're going around asking people if they've ever heard of Venmo and a lot of people have but we've never heard of it," Aviva said.Apparently, hackers set up a fake Venmo account and transferred $1500 a week from the Sturm's account to themselves during March to June of this year until they'd stolen the Sturm's entire $19,500.Despite a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigation, and repeated calls to Bank of America and Venmo, the Sturms couldn't get their money back, forcing them to move to a one-bedroom apartment in their assisted living facility and cancel their secondary medical insurance."It was just a matter of time until we ended up in the street," Alan said.This week Alan called sister station WPBF's investigative reporter Terri Parker and after Parker began investigating, Venmo said through a spokeswoman they were going to reimburse the whole amount to the Sturms."That's amazing! That is the greatest news!" Alan said when Parker told them the news.Alan said the sense of relief was enormous."Oh, I can get medicine now, we can go shopping and get clothes; we can go to the doctor, I can get my secondary insurance back," said Alan, who noted he has epilepsy and they both have heart problems.A Venmo spokeswoman said they are still investigating how hackers set up the fake account and made it appear the transfers were authorized.Venmo Statement:“The safety and security of our customers and their information is Venmo’s top priority. When we were contacted about the situation, we worked quickly to investigate the matter and assist our customers. We take every instance of potential fraud very seriously, and the company works diligently to support and protect our customers.”A Bank of America spokesman released a statement earlier this week saying they could not reimburse the Sturms because Venmo said the transfers were authorized by the Sturms.Bank of America Statement:"In general, if a transaction is unauthorized, the customer will be reimbursed. We will also work on our customer’s behalf to attempt recovery of the money even if we determine that the transaction was authorized. In this case, the merchant (Venmo) provided documentation that the client had authorized the transactions and we were unable to recover the money for the customer."The Sturms said after months of hearing they could not get any help either from Bank of America or Venmo, they were stunned to learn of this change of events."It was that reacted and followed through — it's incredible, just incredible, and thank you," Aviva said.The Sturms have closed their empty Bank of America bank account and will be keeping a close eye on their new one.
Four months after a retired Florida couple learned hackers had drained their bank account using the Venmo app, the company says it will reimburse the entire amount.
"We’re shocked because Alan, especially was doing an awful lot of work and calling a lot of people but you know, we never really thought that it would really happen – that we would ever get that money back," said a relieved Aviva Strum, holding hands with her husband.
It's been a rough four months for the Boynton Beach couple since they learned hackers used the Venmo payment app to drain their Bank of America bank account.
"We're going around asking people if they've ever heard of Venmo and a lot of people have but we've never heard of it," Aviva said.
Apparently, hackers set up a fake Venmo account and transferred $1500 a week from the Sturm's account to themselves during March to June of this year until they'd stolen the Sturm's entire $19,500.
Despite a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigation, and repeated calls to Bank of America and Venmo, the Sturms couldn't get their money back, forcing them to move to a one-bedroom apartment in their assisted living facility and cancel their secondary medical insurance.
"It was just a matter of time until we ended up in the street," Alan said.
This week Alan called sister station WPBF's investigative reporter Terri Parker and after Parker began investigating, Venmo said through a spokeswoman they were going to reimburse the whole amount to the Sturms.
"That's amazing! That is the greatest news!" Alan said when Parker told them the news.
Alan said the sense of relief was enormous.
"Oh, I can get medicine now, we can go shopping and get clothes; we can go to the doctor, I can get my secondary insurance back," said Alan, who noted he has epilepsy and they both have heart problems.
A Venmo spokeswoman said they are still investigating how hackers set up the fake account and made it appear the transfers were authorized.
Venmo Statement:
“The safety and security of our customers and their information is Venmo’s top priority. When we were contacted about the situation, we worked quickly to investigate the matter and assist our customers. We take every instance of potential fraud very seriously, and the company works diligently to support and protect our customers.”
A Bank of America spokesman released a statement earlier this week saying they could not reimburse the Sturms because Venmo said the transfers were authorized by the Sturms.
Bank of America Statement:
"In general, if a transaction is unauthorized, the customer will be reimbursed. We will also work on our customer’s behalf to attempt recovery of the money even if we determine that the transaction was authorized. In this case, the merchant (Venmo) provided documentation that the client had authorized the transactions and we were unable to recover the money for the customer."
The Sturms said after months of hearing they could not get any help either from Bank of America or Venmo, they were stunned to learn of this change of events.
"It was [WPBF] that reacted and followed through — it's incredible, just incredible, and thank you," Aviva said.
The Sturms have closed their empty Bank of America bank account and will be keeping a close eye on their new one.
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