THE STORY (long, and the mods should feel free to move it to another thread if they think it appropriate. Maybe start a Darwin award forum):
OK, first off, no blame to njhowie at all. This was a perfect example of "If it's too good to be true, it's not true". I've listed all the red flags I ignored, just for educational purposes. The first one was that the rates were too high, and they didn't drop when the Fed dropped the interest rate.
I got started on the process by calling the number on the [mod edit - removed link, appears it was a scam] website. Red flag #2 - No email information, just a phone number. I spoke to a Mr. Mark Guntle, who described the products and the process, which sounded pretty legitimate. I don't think I'd have fallen for this if it wasn't listed as part of Synovus Bank, which is my bank.
Anyway, while filling out the application that he sent I was doing some due diligence (ha!). I looked up Mark Guntle on BrokerCheck.com, and there he was, listed with DMG Securities. They have been in business for decades, and have a pretty good record. Red Flag #3 - The company name wasn't the same. Neither was the phone number, although the address was. But I missed that at first.
When I started the $250,000.00 wire transfer, Red Flag #4 I was disturbed by the fact that if he was with Synovus and I was with Synovus, why did I have to transfer the funds through Apex Trading House. But I ignored my misgivings and did the wire transfer. I followed the proper procedures, receiving the wire transfer information via email, then calling Mark Guntle to verify they. Obviously if you get the original information from a scammer, that's not a real security check.
A few minutes later, I got the confirmation call about the wire transfer. While I was confirming, I did a quick internet check on Apex. They are registered in Sheridan WY (Red Flag#5). Not a hotbed of the financial industry.
Anyway, I gave the approval on the wire transfer, despite the nagging voice in the back of my head. But just as I hung up I noticed the company (Apex) had only been registered since July 2019. I freaked out and called the Wire Transfer Dept. back, but they had already put it through. I'm talking less than 2 minutes, but the money was gone! I asked if they could recall it, and they told me I'd have to deal with my branch. I drove there (1/2 mile, took me about 10 seconds) and talked to the manager. She started the recall process, but didn't think it would do any good. Once they send the money, it's like a cash transaction. It's gone. I had my laptop and tried to show her the website saying they were a Synovus company. Well guess what? Today it said they were a Community Federal Company, Cleared by Apex Clearing. All references to Synovus were gone.
At this point I had already assumed I'd lost the money, and was going insane. I called Mark Guntle and asked him to cancel the transaction. He hung up on me. Bad sign.
Now here's where I give myself a little credit, although up to here I think I had been a total idiot. I felt like panicking and running around gibbering, but instead I called the receiving bank, Community Federal Savings Bank in Woodhaven NY. I explained the situation, and gave them the account number for the wire transfer. They told me that wasn't a real account number for them, it was a holding account for a company called Transferwise, who do international financial transactions. They are a legitimate company, although from what I've learned since they also are used by international scammers just like was being done to me. Anyway I spoke to someone there and again explained the situation. He took my information and said he'd get back to me. Not totally encouraging. I also called the Mrk Guntle that I *thought* I had been dealing with, and let him know that someone was using his name, address, and a similar company name. He had never heard of me, proving again that it was a scam. I don't think he believed me about the identity theft. At this point my branch manager said there was nothing else to do, I'd just have to wait until tomorrow.
So I came home and broke the news to DW. She's amazing, and I'm still alive and married. But it was incredibly traumatic. While I was waiting I filled out an FBI Internet Fraud report. DW and I talked and took a walk and tried to come to terms with it. It's not the worst thing we've been through together, but it was pretty high up on the list.
Finally, at 5:30 pm I got an email from the Synovus Wireroom team, saying that my money was back in my account!!!!! That was almost as traumatic as the first realization of the scam. I'm not sure my heart can take much more of this. I still, at this point, don't know which of the two organizations (Community FSB or TransferWise) caught the transfer and reversed it. I hope to find out tomorrow. But I think it was Transferwise, and I think they process all their outgoing transfers in a batch after business hours. So only the fact that I moved so quickly gave us a chance. Of course, moving quickly is what got me into the situation in the first place.
So, that's the saga. I am thanking God and we are considering this found money at this point. We will spend a little time figuring out how to share our good luck, but we've definitely got to do something. We can't even go out to eat to celebrate, since we're staying home and everything is closed anyway. There may be a large glass of bourbon in my immediate future, though.