Andy Cohen has spoken out about having large amounts of money stolen from his bank account after falling for a very convincing, elaborate imposter scam.
The Bravo host, 55, last week revealed he recently became a victim of a credit card and bank scheme and was in the process of recovering the stolen funds.
Cohen shared more details about the alarming experience in an interview with DailyMail.com on Tuesday, recounting how he managed to get conned after 'unwittingly' giving scammers access to his account.
The television personality explained he was targeted at a vulnerable time because he had, coincidentally, recently lost his card and was awaiting a replacement when he received an email that appeared to be from his bank.
'It started online and then they called and they had information that I had unwittingly given them,' he explained when asked about the ordeal in New York City.
'So that made me think they were really from my bank. They were very good at what they did. It can happen to anyone.'
Cohen explained he received an fraudulent email from what seemed to be his bank and proceeded to unwittingly give the scammers his information The CNN New Year's Eve host previously revealed that he received an email from an imposter that contained a fraudulent link that directed him to a page where he was asked to sign in with his details - which effectively gave scammers access to his account.
He then got a call from who he believed to be a bank representative who wanted to alert him to strange activity on his account.
Cohen explained that he was willing to discuss his financial information on the phone because the scammers, who by then already had access to his account, were able to list off purchases he had recently made.
It was during his hour and 10 minute phone call that he was duped into setting up a call forwarding on his phone through 'codes' he received from the scammer - which he would later realize had actually been a trick to facilitate wire transfers out of his account.
Cohen urged the public to use his experience as a cautionary tale that even generally savvy people can still become victims of such scams and advised others to look out for red flags.
'Look closely at the email address if people are emailing you saying they're from somewhere. If someone calls you and says they're from the bank or they're some from somewhere, say you'll call them back,' he said.
'Call them number on the back of your card or go to your bank.
'It can happen to anyone. I'm not. I don't consider myself a foolish person. But it happened to me.'
The Watch What Happens Live host is working to get his money back and advises anyone who might be contacted by potential scammers to 'just go to your bank branch'
ELABORATE NEW BANK AND CREDIT CARD SCAMS ARE AMONG THE TOP FINANCIAL CONS IN US
A recently DailyMail.com report revealed a staggering 21 million people were duped into fake cryptocurrency schemes and other cons this past year, with a survey showing most Americans are worried about becoming the next victim of one.
Polling firm Gallup found that 8 percent of adults had been personally tricked by a scammer into sending money or giving them access to their financial institution, while 15 percent said the same thing had happened to a member of their household.
The 8 percent of conned adults amounts to some 21 million Americans falling prey to scams
This makes financial cons the fourth most prevalent crime in the US after identity theft, vandalization of property, and property theft, the group's nationwide survey of 1,009 adults last month shows.
Scammers use many cruel techniques to part people of their money — by pretending to represent a charity, a debt collector, or even a relative or colleague in a tight spot who needs an emergency cash transfer.
Nearly three quarters of respondents said they worry about having their identity hacked, while nearly six-in-ten said being tricked by a scammer was on their mind 'frequently' or 'occasionally.'
That's many more people than fret about having their car stolen, being mugged or having their home burglarized.
Researchers also found that some people were more likely to be swindled than others. Young people get it worse — a tenth of those aged 18-29 were scammed this past year.
When asked if he has had any success in recovering the stolen money, he replied: 'Um, I'm on it.'
A recent DailyMail.com report revealed a staggering 21 million adults were duped into similar schemes in 2023, with 8 per cent of Americans being tricked into sending money or providing access to a financial institution in the past year.
Cohen first opened up about the ordeal in a December 22 episode of his Daddy Diaries podcast.
The Bravolebrity explained he didn't want to go 'too deeply into what happened,' but relayed to co-host John Hill that he was hoodwinked by someone claiming to be from his bank's fraud alert department.
'I did lose a card, and I put in for [a replacement 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.
According to the What's Happening Live host, he logged into the site linked in the email, but alarm bells began ringing when the person he was speaking with asked for his Apple ID and password.
'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.'
'She was like, 'I need you to enter into your phone these numbers. I went to the keypad, and I entered a bunch of numbers that she told me to enter,' he explained.
'And what came onto my screen was this screen that basically said…I had set up call forwarding and message forwarding on my phone.'
Andy revealed that when he went to the bank the next day, large sums of money had been wired out of his accounts and he was unaware of it due to the call forwarding he was persuaded to put on his phone.
'Since I had set up call forwarding, the calls went to the scam artists, and they confirmed the wires.'
The Real Housewives franchise executive producer advised others who might be contacted by fraudsters to take time to make sure everything is the way it should be.
'Part of my advice for people is that if something is happening, just go to your bank branch.'
He added, 'And when you get emails, look very closely at the email address. It might say your bank's name, but click on the name, and then the email address will appear, and you'll see that it's some other random address.'
Andy said he was 'in the process of trying to get my money back.'
