Curtis's credit union number showed up on his phone, the caller used official scripts, named real departments, and convinced him that three real-time payment transfers were just 'tests.' By the time he realized what happened, $6,848 was gone — including his emergency fund and money saved for a World Cup ticket. Jade's mother-in-law lost $35,000 to scammers the same week. The play-by-play is an essential scam-prevention tutorial.