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Call Kurtis Investigates: Fraudsters Target Federally Issued Direct Express Debit Cards - YouTube
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getting answers from all across Northern
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California this is the CBS 13 News at
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10:00
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tonight a call Curtiss investigation
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people's basic living expenses stolen
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right out of their accounts left with no
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way to eat pay rent or buy medicine
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curtis uncovered the fraud is tied to a
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government issued prepaid mastercard
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yeah four and a half million americans
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collect their federal benefits this way
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we're talking VA benefits Social
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Security it's a prepaid mastercard
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called direct Express and tonight we're
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exposing fraud with these cards driving
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some to desperation without a penny out
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of gas almost out of medicine so I'm out
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of that and her only food when her
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friends feed her stage for cancer
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patient Yasmine Schneider doesn't have a
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penny to her name and to her Social
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Security payment of $618 vanished from
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her direct Express MasterCard withdrawn
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from an ATM in Florida I don't know
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anybody in Florida
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I've never been to Florida Comerica Bank
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which has the exclusive contract to run
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the government's prepaid debit card told
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her it could take up to 90 days to
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investigate I don't know what to do next
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I don't know how long this is gonna take
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and whether I'm gonna have a place to go
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I've called about 300 times Navy veteran
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Robert Grimes says he spot Comerica for
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more than a year over $109 fraudulently
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taken from his Direct Express card I
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just want them to give me my money back
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that's it that's all there's no risk of
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lost or stolen benefits checks this
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commercial for the Direct Express
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MasterCard calls it as safe easy
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and convenient way to get your federal
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benefits and their bunch of Dan Liars
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twice the victim to fraud on his owns
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erect Express card author and private
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investigator JB Sims says fraud victims
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across the country are battling Comerica
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to get their money back they have no
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other means of income you get a cancer
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patient
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you've got military veterans with PTSD
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they've already fought they're tired of
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fighting federal banking rules protect
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you from debit card fraud
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once you report it the bank has ten days
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to investigate if they need longer and
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you've submitted the paperwork requested
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you're supposed to get a provisional
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credit but some can't wait that long one
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person in Rhode Island left without
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their money complained being evicted out
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of my residence another in Washington
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state said I will lose my house and car
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we wanted to know the scope of Direct
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Express fraud and how long people are
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going without their money who's keeping
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an eye on this program good question
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ping-pong between federal agencies the
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Treasury Department told us to ask
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America directly which told us specific
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fraud data is not released to the public
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but it's fraud rate for the director
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Express program is among the lowest in
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the industry I think there's a Fox in
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the henhouse
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Simms thinks the fraud may be tied to
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the fact Comerica uses an outside
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company to handle direct Express calls
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and I think the FBI needs to get
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involved because there's gonna be some
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heads rolling Comerica admitted to us
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it's processes are not perfect but says
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Direct Express is a secure program with
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strong fraud protections adding for the
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past nine years the program has had a
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94% cardholder satisfaction score on an
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independent survey but both Robert and
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Yasmine were not satisfied until we got
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involved and they got their money back I
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can pay my rent and I can get my
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medication but Simms warns others using
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these prepaid cards it's Russian
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roulette it's Russian roulette for the
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people that have a direct Express card
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because eventually it's gonna happen to
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you that you are going to have to fight
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to get your money back Alania 53,000
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people of Sacramento use direct express
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master cards
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we've learned the Bureau of fiscal
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services has launched an audit supposed
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to wrap up in the spring Comerica Bank
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did shut down part of the program this
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summer after reports fraudsters figured
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out how to reroute people's money yeah
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pretty scary and some people might just
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like the idea of the good old days when
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you got a check they phased out checks
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five years ago so now your options are
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direct deposit or the Direct Express
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card and for people who don't have bank
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accounts which a sizable number of
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people in this country don't have bank
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accounts the Direct Express card is
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their only option we're glad that those
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two people got their money back
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yeah and now some lawmakers are calling
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on for an investigation so we'll see
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what happens there have a consumer
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problem or something for me to
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investigate let me know about it go to
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CBS 13 dot-com slash call Curtis and
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fill out our form
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