Midlothian man who said he lost debit card turns to I-Team after Chase rejects PIN fraud claim

MIDLOTHIAN (WLS) -- Jacob Conway said he doesn't know how fraudsters figured out his PIN. Conway told Investigative Reporter Jason Knowles he didn't use and easy number like his birth date or 1111.

"I noticed I misplaced it. I thought I left it in the work van so I went to work searching for it, searching the car and I noticed it was nowhere to be found," he said. "Then I started getting emails and statements from Chase 'hey in your account, checks are bouncing, you are in the negative', what's going on. So I immediately called Chase and said 'this is not me, this is fraud'."

Conway said thieves deposited fake checks in an ATM and then withdrew more than $2,000. Bounced check fees piled up. He's been in a battle with Chase over his claim since September 2019.

"I got a call back from Chase saying, 'can't prove this is fraud, sorry.' So I went to the police department that weekend," Conway said.

He filed a report with the Midlothian Police Department for fraudulent activity and showed the I-Team screen shots of ATM withdrawals.

The I-Team sent over the police report and the account statement to Chase and within two days, Conway got a call from Chase saying they reopened the case and reviewed the footage.

"I'm getting my money refunded. I got a check within two days," Conway said. Then he received this second check. Together they total $2,400.

Chase told the I-Team it reviewed the case and that it approved Conway's claim "... based on new information."

The bank added that if a card has been lost or stolen, customers should immediately report it to their 800 number fraud line 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"When filing a claim for any unauthorized charges, it's important to provide full and accurate information," Chase added.

Ira Winkler, Lead Security Principal at Trustwave, said be sure no one, not even a friend or co-worker sees you entering your PIN.

"Some machines have guards on the side of them so it is harder to see what numbers people are entering, sometimes you can look over a shoulder," Winkler said.

Security experts at Trustwave said Googling and social engineering can also be used to figure out a PIN.

"The PIN may have been related to that person's birthday it might have been related to a family member's birthday," added Winkler.

Experts also say you should never use anniversaries and birth dates, or write your PIN on the card.

You can set up detailed text alerts to tell you if there are suspicious withdrawals. The earlier you know about fraud and the faster you report it, the higher your chances are of approval.