When a South Florida woman was robbed late one night, she lost her sense of security. And since they got her phone, she also lost thousands of dollars she’d been working hard to save. Can she get it back? It’s Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
You know it’s either very late – or super early – if the roosters are out. It was around 3 a.m. the night 22-year-old Elizabeth and her friend were hanging out a few weeks ago.
Elizabeth: “I hopped in his car, and we were just chilling at the front of my aunt’s property.”
Not long after is when the trouble started, and it’s the reason Elizabeth doesn’t want to show her face.
Elizabeth: “All of a sudden, I hear a hard knock on the glass and these people saying, ‘Get the [expletive] out. Get on the ground!'”
A nearby security camera captured the commotion.
Elizabeth and her friend were being robbed.
Elizabeth: “And they’re asking us to give them our jewelry, our phones, our watches, everything that we had.”
Then they sped away. Taking with them Elizabeth’s unlocked phone.
Elizabeth: “We called the cops right away, and the cops got there. We were dealing with that for a handful of hours.”
Elizabeth was using a computer to report her phone stolen, and that’s when the emails started coming in.
Elizabeth: “And I saw that there was transactions that were sent out.”
Thousands of dollars Elizabeth had saved using a mobile financial platform had disappeared.
Elizabeth: “I had saw that they had sent $7,200.”
It was money she’d been setting aside to someday get her own place.
Elizabeth: “I’ve been saving.”
Producer: “What have you been saving for?”
Elizabeth: “I’ve been saving so I can move out. I don’t want to be living with my parents my whole life.”
But just like that, it was gone.
Also stolen in those early morning hours – her sense of security.
Elizabeth: “I don’t even go out at night.”
Elizabeth says she’s now afraid to leave her parents’ house.
Elizabeth: “If I do, I’m literally in the arms of whoever I’m out with in tears until I’m back home.”
Howard: She had thousands saved on a mobile platform. If someone steals your phone, can they steal your money too?
Howard: “No, because of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act, the quicker you report the crime, the less you are liable. Elizabeth reported the unauthorized transactions the same day she was robbed at gunpoint. By doing so, she’s entitled to get most of her money back.”
We reached out to the company Elizabeth was using to save her money. They told us, “They’d escalate it to their customer support team to investigate.” Then they told us to check back in with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth: “At first, I was like, ‘No way! There’s no way.'”
All the money stolen from her had been replaced.
Elizabeth: “Two hours after receiving the email, I got another email saying that I got refunded everything that was taken from me.”
And hopefully soon she’ll get her sense of security back as well.
Howard mentioned the quicker you report unauthorized transactions, the better. Report within two days; your liability is capped at $50. Within 60 days, it’s $500. After 60 days, you are not protected by the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.
Got a problem and need a hand? Here’s how to find us below. It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
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