Woodinville small business owner loses $6K in scam

A small business owner in Woodinville tells FOX 13 News he got scammed out of more than $6,000 and wants to warn others about the attack. 

Brandon Blinn is the owner of Blinn Fitness in Woodinville

He says that last week he got a notification stating his bank account was under attack for a $500 fraudulent charge.

Blinn said he was skeptical about the message.

"Can you verify a security message, and they sent me a secure message, and I was like this looks like one’s I’ve gotten from CHASE before," said Blinn.

Blinn says the scammer used a number that showed up as CHASE Bank. He says the scammer also had Blinn’s personal information, and even provided a phony "employee ID," all adding to the legitimacy of the interaction.

However, even after completing the transaction, Blinn had doubts.

"As soon as I sent it, me and my wife were talking, and I was like, "I think that was a scam. So I went straight to the bank," he said.

Unfortunately, Blinn’s suspicions were accurate. He says the scammer got away with his entire account, $6,1000.

"It’s kind of like your stomach drops a little bit. Because you’re like oh my god, because right now there is 17 people working here, and we have a whole community and when you hear that your bank account is not in your bank account anymore, and you didn’t get anything in reciprocation for that it kind of feels like you got robbed," he said.

The incident happened last Thursday, and Blinn says he has been working to get the money back every day since the scam.

"I’ve called them ten times since it happened. I emailed them. I messaged them on Instagram. I filed a police report I reached out to the FBI," he said.

FOX 13 News investigated this situation and found several other news stories, from across the country, with very similar details.

We also found a Better Business Bureau alert regarding this sort of scam.

Blinn says he is reaching out to FOX 13 News in the hopes of getting answers for his situation, but also warning others, especially as we move into the holiday season.

"This could literally make or break someone’s business if they are starting out, and its unfortunate that people aren't aware of this,’ he said.

FOX 13 News reached out to CHASE regarding this incident. A rep with the company said they want to research this issue further. We will update you when we hear back.