New Jersey

7 On Your Side helps retrieve nearly $20k after NJ paramedic scammed by fake bank reps

Published

1 year ago

September 25, 2024

7 On Your Side helps retrieve nearly k after NJ paramedic scammed by fake bank reps

NEW JERSEY (WABC) — A New Jersey paramedic lost $19,000 after receiving a call from a poser pretending to be her bank.

The impersonator managed to steal money from her personal checking and savings account and also her daughter’s college savings account that was connected.

These types of scams are getting not just more elaborate, but more convincing as well. In this case, the scammers sent an Uber driver to their target’s home to collect a debit card.

Ziamara Lopez is used to saving lives but what happened to her almost put her in cardiac arrest.

“My heart dropped. I was in disbelief,” she told Eyewitness News.

The paramedic, single mom, and grad school student has been saving for her daughter’s college education, ever since Kaiya was born 18 years ago. She said her efforts were nothing but “blood, sweat, tears and hard work.”

In May, Lopez received a call and displayed on the caller ID read ‘Wells Fargo Bank.’ She answered without hesitation.

“She was like ‘Hello, this is so and so from Wells Fargo. We noticed some fraudulent activity on your account. We were calling because we noticed some fraudulent activity on your account. Is there any way that you can check your account and tell me if the charges that you see on your account were made by you,” Lopez said.

The fake bank representative texted, got codes, went into her checking, and then the savings account and stole nearly $20,000; but then, something even more sinister and scary happened.

The imposter falsely claimed Wells Fargo had a collaboration with Uber. This was a blatant lie and a driver was on it’s way to grab her debit card for “forensic analysis.” Now that the thieves had their hands on the physical card, the hackers accessed her linked college fund and drained it completely.

“I don’t even know how to explain it. It was like my heart just left my body. My stomach was at the pit. I just I just started crying. I was on the phone with Wells Fargo, and I’m like this. This can’t be real, right? I’m like, I don’t even understand what just happened. Like, I was on the phone with one of your guys, right,” she said.

Since the scammer had the physical card, it was Christmas in summer. With Ziomara’s email alerts blowing up her phone, the real Wells Fargo was able to stop the bleeding. However, because she had been fooled by that phone call thinking she was actually dealing with her bank, Wells Fargo denied the claim saying Xiamora had enabled the fraud.

“They were basically saying, I’m not getting the money back,” Lopez said.

That’s when she decided to reach out to 7 On Your Side and we asked the bank to revive the account for the paramedic.

Dan Cusick, Wells Fargo’s Vice President of Fraud Prevention issued a reminder and said “the bank will not call you.”

“Don’t trust caller ID. We see that those numbers are spoofed quite often. Meaning, they are pretending to be from a trusted entity. It’s ok to hand up and call them back. There are numbers readily available online,” Cusick told Eyewitness News.

Wells Fargo eventually revived Lopez’s account in full after 7 On Your Side reached out to the financial institution.

“If it wasn’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have my money back. Thank you so much,” she said.

ALSO READ: Neighborhood Eats: Casa Della Mozzarella on Arthur Avenue’s family history

Neighborhood Eats takes you to the Little Italy of the Bronx for a taste of mozzarella that’s considered the best in the city.

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Related Topics:15352906 7 on your side Debit card Featured life savings new jersey New York new york city nina pineda Nj scam Scammers Wells Fargo

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New Jersey

Did anyone win Powerball? Winning numbers for March 4, 2026

Published

4 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Did anyone win Powerball? Winning numbers for March 4, 2026

APP.com Digital Desk
| Asbury Park Press

Powerball winning numbers are in for the Wednesday, March 2 drawing with a jackpot that reached an estimated $20 million ($9.4 million cash option).

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s drawing are 7, 14, 42, 47, and 56, with Powerball number 6. The Power Play number is 4.

Did anyone win the Powerball jackpot?

No one won the Powerball jackpot

When is the next drawing of the Powerball?

The next Powerball drawing is Saturday. Drawings are held at 10:59 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

How late can you buy a Powerball ticket?

In New Jersey, in-store and online ticket sales are available until 9:59 p.m. on the night of the draw.

What does it cost to play Powerball?

Powerball costs $2 to play. For an additional $1 per play, the Power Play feature can multiply nonjackpot prizes by two, three, four, five or 10 times.

Are you a Powerball winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All New Jersey Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599.99. For prizes over $599.99, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at New Jersey Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to New Jersey Lottery, Attn: Validations, PO Box 041, Trenton, NJ 08625-0041.

Winners can drop off their claim form and winning ticket in person at the New Jersey Lottery office where a secure drop box is available. Claim forms are also available at the office. Hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Lawrence Park Complex, 1333 Brunswick Avenue Circle, Trenton, NJ 08648.

To find a lottery retalier, you can search the NJ lotto website.

What is the Powerball payout?

The complete guide to winnings is:

Match 5 White Balls + Powerball: Jackpot
Match 5 White Balls: $1 million
Match 4 White Balls + Powerball: $50,000
Match 4 White Balls: $100
Match 3 White Balls + Powerball: $100
Match 3 White Balls: $7
Match 2 White Balls + Powerball: $7
Match 1 White Ball + Powerball: $4
Match Powerball: $4
Match 5 White Balls with Power Play: $2 million
Match 4 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $200,000
Match 4 White Balls with Power Play: $400
Match 3 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $400
Match 3 White Balls with Power Play: $28
Match 2 White Balls + Powerball with Power Play: $28
Match 1 White Ball + Powerball with Power Play: $16
Match Powerball with Power Play: $16

What are the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot?

The overall odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292.2 million.

How do I find the Powerball winning numbers?

Powerball drawings are broadcast live every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. from the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee. Drawings are also lived streamed on Powerball.com. The winning numbers are posted to the Powerball and New Jersey Lottery websites.

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New Jersey

NJ’s biggest Catholic diocese hits pause on plan to merge parishes

Published

16 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

NJ’s biggest Catholic diocese hits pause on plan to merge parishes

Last June, the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark launched a review called “We Are His Witnesses,” which aimed to consider potential consolidations or closures of some of its 211 North Jersey parishes.

But amid confusion and pushback from many parishioners, Cardinal Joseph Tobin said Wednesday that the archdiocese will now extend its review to allow for further study and conversations.

In a letter published on the Archdiocese website March 4, Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, noted the challenges remain the same: a steady decline in membership and a shortage of priests projected to grow worse in the coming years. He did not specify how much longer the process would take but said he would have more to announce in June.

The largest of New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses, the Newark Archdiocese serves approximately 1.3 million people in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties.

Story continues after gallery.

Some parishioners, Tobin wrote, “came to believe — incorrectly — that the overall goal of We Are His Witnesses is to close churches. That has never been the purpose.

“This work is not driven by downsizing, but by mission: by the call to strengthen parish life so that it can truly form disciples and reach those who are not yet engaged in the life of the Church.”

The program’s aim is not to close churches, but to “strengthen parish life” he added.

He said a follow-up announcement would come on June 12 but reassured parishioners that “there is no need to fear that an immediate and wholesale closure of parishes will be announced.”

‘The Church is not a museum’

Current circumstances demand Church leaders to make difficult decisions, he said. “The challenges we face are real: fewer priests, fewer people in the pews, communities that look very different than they did even a generation ago, and financial strain. Ignoring the changed landscape does not preserve parish life; it weakens it. The Church is not a museum to preserve what it once was,” he wrote.

The initiative kicked off last summer, with meetings at churches around the region to allow parishioners to offer feedback. Many expressed fears about their future of their church, Tobin said.

Parishioners at many of the meetings and in letters to Tobin expressed concerns about the program. As a result, Tobin concluded that “it is clear that the communities of the Archdiocese need more time for honest discernment. We are extending this phase of our work to allow for deeper reflection and broader consultation throughout our local Church.”

“This is not a pause in mission. It is a call to take the mission seriously and to ask ourselves, with renewed honesty, what it means to be a missionary Church today.”

Msgr. Richard Arnhols, pastor emeritus of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Bergenfield and a member of a committee of pastoral leaders helping to guide the review, said that, “Based on the input from the priests and people of the parishes which took place last fall, Cardinal Tobin has approved a period of additional study and reflection before any decisions are made.”

The first step is further conversation among parish priests, which will take place this month, he said.

Gregory Hann, a religious instructor at St. Vincent Academy in Newark, applauded Tobin’s decision. “If we continue to do things the way we have been doing them, we become a stagnant Church and we allow the comforts of our culture and the outside to keep us from moving from the Cross to glory.”

Nicholas Grillo of Bloomfield, a parishioner who attended several listening sessions at Holy Rosary Church in Jersey City, approved of the decision. “Hopefully the pause will give them time to reevaluate this going forward,” he said.

He added that it was a “waste of money” to pay large sums of money to a consultant that “doesn’t understand the intricacies of the Archdiocese of Newark,” he said, referring to the Catholic Leadership Institute, a Pennsylvania group that the archdiocese has engaged.

Instead, Grillo suggested, “they should put together a group of lay parishioners and priests from the diocese who can collaborate on a better path forward.”

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New Jersey

Devils Out to Rattle the Leafs | PREVIEW | New Jersey Devils

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Devils Out to Rattle the Leafs | PREVIEW | New Jersey Devils

THE SCOOP

The Devils began their season-high seven-game homestand with a decisive victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The win was their second consecutive victory after picking up a win in St. Louis earlier in the week.

There’s not a lot of runway left in the season, and stringing together a run of victories is at the top of their minds. New Jersey is 11 points out of the final Wild Card spot, and 13 out of third in the Metropolitan Division. Tuesday will mark the Devils final game before the NHL Trade Deadline, which is on Friday at 3 p.m.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are having a down year, based on where the expectations were set heading into the season. The Leafs have struggled to gain any traction in their season and sit just two points ahead of New Jersey with 64. Toronto is 12 points out of third in the Atlantic Division, and nine points out of a Wild Card spot.

The Leafs have a tendency to give up an abundance of shots to their opponents, ranking first in the league in shots against, per game with 31.8, which bodes will for a Devils team that averages 29.4 shots per game, ranking sixth in the league. Despite their overall struggles, the Leafs do have the league’s fourth-best penalty kill, working at an 83.1 percent efficiency.

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