- Andy Cohen has opened up about a scam he endured
- It had to do with a bank fraud alert
- THIS is how Andy describes it all
On his 'Daddy Diaries' podcast, Cohen recounted a tale of deception that sounds straight out of a Hollywood script, but with a twist that's all too real for the celeb. The fact is, this is a cautionary tale. And you might want to take notes, folks, because this could happen to anybody.
Andy is handing out tips
The drama unfolded when Cohen received a call from what appeared to be his bank's fraud alert team. The timing was uncanny – Cohen had recently lost a debit card and thought the call was related.
The scammers, with their silver tongues, convinced him to hand over sensitive information, including his Apple ID and password. "OK, this never happens," he thought, but by then, it was a scammer's paradise, and Cohen's bank account was the stage!
He then noted that before the call, he had put in a request for a new bank card. "I did lose a card, and I put in for it, and I got an email saying, ‘There might be fraud on your account,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, this is attached to the card I lost,’" he said. He says he then logged into his bank account, which is when he was asked for "[his] Apple ID and password".
Although he realized this was a bad sign and "bailed" from the web page, he later felt like that led to him being scammed.
"I had already logged into my bank app," he said. "I think somehow my logging through whatever this site was gave them access to my bank app. They’re like ‘it’s fraud alert,’ whatever, and I go: ‘Yes, we need to talk,’" he said. "And then they were naming credits that I had made, charges, because they clearly had access to my account."
Cohen shared that as the person on the phone was naming charges, he’d say: "Yes, these are real charges." However, he said he had regrets for how he handled the situation, before revealing how long he ended up staying on the phone with the woman.
"What I should have done is say, ‘Can I call you back?’ or ‘Can I go to the bank and handle this?’" he explained to his co-host. "Instead, John, I stayed on the line with this woman for an hour and 10 minutes."
Andy, the ever-charismatic host of 'Watch What Happens Live,' revealed that the scammers were so sophisticated they even managed to hack the caller ID system, making the call appear legit. They knew his recent transactions, which added an eerie layer of authenticity to their ruse. "They were naming credits that I had made," Cohen recalled, a clear sign they had infiltrated his account.
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The audacity! And as if that wasn't enough, they tricked him into setting up call forwarding, ensuring that when his real bank called to flag the suspicious transfers, Cohen was none the wiser.
But don't count Cohen out just yet! The star is in full battle mode, fighting to reclaim his hard-earned cash. It's a cautionary tale that's got everyone double-checking their bank alerts and clutching their debit cards a little tighter.
Never let your guard down, folks! Stay tuned for updates on Cohen's quest to outsmart the scammers and recover his funds. And remember, when it comes to your money, always verify before you trust!
