CBS Philadelphia anchor shares how a phone scam cost him $7,000

Think you'd never fall for a scam? That's what many victims think before it happens to them.

A recent Gallup survey found one in 10 Americans said they or someone in their household had been scammed within the past year. Now, a familiar face at CBS News Philadelphia is sharing his experience in hopes of helping others avoid the same costly mistake.

Call that seemed legitimate

CBS News Philadelphia anchor Siafa Lewis said he received a phone call from someone claiming to work in his bank's fraud department at PNC. He said the caller told him there was suspicious activity on his account and wanted to verify whether certain transactions were legitimate.

It was not the first time Lewis had received a fraud-related call from his bank, so he did not immediately suspect anything was wrong.

"That's the last thing that was on my mind that day," Lewis said.

The caller sounded convincing and appeared to have information about Lewis' account.

The critical mistake

Lewis says he never knowingly provided sensitive banking information.

But investigators say scammers often already have access to some personal information through previous data breaches or other sources.

What they needed from Lewis was a one-time, two-factor authentication code sent to his phone.

The code is designed to prevent unauthorized access to an account.

Unfortunately, Lewis shared it.

"I think they had my username and my password, but they couldn't get into my account," Lewis said. "Thus, the phone call. Thus, the 'Can you confirm the six-digit code we just sent you?'"

That single code gave the scammers what they needed to access the account.

Thousands of dollars gone

After gaining access, Lewis said the scammers used Zelle to move $7,000 out of his account.

When Lewis logged in and saw the activity, he knew something was wrong.

"Obviously, alarm bells are blaring all over," he said. "My heart drops."

A growing problem

According to the Federal Trade Commission, imposter scams are now the most commonly reported scams in the United States.

These scams occur when criminals pretend to represent a trusted organization, such as a bank, government agency or well-known company.

The goal is often to persuade victims to provide sensitive information or authorize financial transactions. In 2025, imposter scams cost victims $3.5 billion, according to the FTC.

What banks want customers to know

PNC says it will never call customers and ask for a one-time passcode or online banking login credentials.

The American Bankers Association says that is standard practice across the banking industry.

If you receive a call claiming to be from your bank, experts recommend hanging up and calling the institution directly using the phone number printed on the back of your debit or credit card, on a bank statement or on the bank's official website.

Lewis says that is the lesson he hopes others take away from his experience.

"If you are to receive a call," Lewis said, "call back the number that you know you have to that institution."

Still fighting to recover the money 

Lewis immediately reported the incident to his bank, local police and the FBI.

"We take these matters very seriously, and review and investigate allegations of fraud in line with regulatory guidelines," a PNC spokesperson said in an emailed statement to CBS News Philadelphia. 

"We encourage customers to be vigilant about new types of financial fraud like social engineering, and we provide helpful tips on the PNC Privacy & Security Center."

Lewis is still trying to recover the money and remains hopeful because he says he never authorized the Zelle transfers.

Investigators may also have more information to work with than they often do in cases involving wire transfers, which can be significantly more difficult to trace.

How to protect yourself

If someone calls claiming to be from your bank:

• Never share a one-time authentication code
• Never provide login credentials over the phone
• Hang up and call the bank directly using an official number
• Review account activity regularly
• Report suspicious activity immediately

Experts say the safest assumption is that any unexpected caller could be a scammer, even if the phone number appears legitimate because scammers can spoof phone numbers to make calls appear as though they're coming from a trusted source.

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