Local business owner warns others to check bank accounts often to protect from theft

Yahoo

14-03-2025

HONOLULU (KHON2) — A local business owner warns others to be on the lookout and check their bank accounts after she fell victim to scammers stealing tens of thousands of dollars from her.
Erica Lincoln owns Gymboree but was forced to cut down her staff to save some money after someone stole close to $40,000 from her business bank account last March.
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'I was on a trip to Mexico so it was a cruise ship and I didn't have access to my bank account so I wasn't able to monitor it,' said Erica Lincoln, theft victim. 'When I got back, to make a long story short, checked my bank account and saw 50 something dollars left in my account.'
She disputed the charges with her bank for withdrawals of more than $2600 at a time until her account was empty.
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Lincoln said someone forged her signature on a bank transfer and when she called their number, it was someone foreign.
'It's really crazy. I don't know how these people can do that and get away with it,' said Lincoln. 'It seems like such an easy thing to do and it's scary.'
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'When you think about the global nature of crime and how easy it is for anyone to set up shop and start with a computer in an internet cafe anywhere in the world to start trying to get access to people's information, it's something that we all have to be aware of, and it is happening all the time,' said Dale Dixon, Better Business Bureau.
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The Better Business Bureau advises to always lock your information down and be careful who you share it with.
If someone does get a hold of sensitive information, contact your bank immediately and monitor your accounts constantly.
Lincoln said she has moved on and is only looking forward now.
One year later, she wants to warn everyone that something like this could happen to anyone and to always be safe.
'I would just say hey monitor your bank account every single day and do what I do — check if first thing in the morning, check it at lunch, check it before you go to bed,' said Lincoln.
Lincoln added she started selling stuff on the side — boiled peanuts and stuff from her closet — to make some extra money.
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'If you start feeling negative, you'll get nowhere,' said Lincoln. 'You know you have to stay positive and just push forward and just do what you have to do.'
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