There’s an alarming scam targeting Navy Federal customers in our area. Someone takes out a loan in a customer’s name, and they’re left out to dry and forced to pay it back, police say.
News 3 investigative reporter Margaret Kavanagh has reported extensively on the issue. She learned criminals target the military and young people in parking lots around the region, ask to use their phones, then access their accounts.
While following up on the issue, we met another person who fell victim to the scam.
Angel Taylor says in March 2023, she was approached by a frantic man in a Newport News Walmart parking lot who said he lost his wife. He asked Taylor if he could borrow her phone.
“[He had] a baby in his back seat and he was crying too,” said Taylor. “I was like, ‘Yes, you can borrow my phone.'”
Watch previous coverage: Scam targeting Navy Federal customers costing victims thousands in Hampton Roads
Scam targeting Navy Federal customers costing victims thousands in Hampton Roads
This was a $4,000 mistake. Taylor, who was 19 at the time, says the man took out a personal loan and a cash advance while using her Navy Federal App then transferred the money to someone else.