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

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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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New Jersey

Today in History: July 12, riot erupts in New Jersey over police beating of Black taxi driver

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Today in History: July 12, riot erupts in New Jersey over police beating of Black taxi driver


Today is Sunday, July 12, the 193rd day of 2026. There are 172 days left in the year.

Today in History:

On July 12, 1967, rioting erupted in Newark, New Jersey, over the police beating of a Black taxi driver; 26 people were killed in the five days of violence that followed.

Also on this date:

In 1543, England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr.



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Ex-NJ GOP aide accused of staging slashing attack shows off horrific scars — and mystery man — in new snap

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Ex-NJ GOP aide accused of staging slashing attack shows off horrific scars — and mystery man — in new snap


The unhinged ex-GOP aide who claimed she had been viciously attacked and labeled “Trump whore” — but who authorities say staged the assault and hired a fetish artist to carve her up — showed off her jaw-dropping scars in a new photo, along with a heavily-tattooed mystery man. 

Natalie Greene, the Ocean City, NJ woman accused of faking a gruesome politically-driven assault while working for Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, shared a glimpse into her life for the first time since the scandal broke nearly a year ago.

The 26-year-old updated her Facebook profile picture on the Fourth of July to a smiling selfie of herself and the new pal.

Natalie Greene updated her Facebook profile photo on July 4. FaceBook / Natalie Greene

She wore a knitted tank top – exposing multiple thick, pink scars across her shoulder, chest and neck. 

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Her dark hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, and her manicured hand covered her mouth as she laughed. 

A man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap with tattoos up his neck and arm smiled next to her. 

Greene, a Masarati-driving ex-Rutgers Law student, was charged with conspiracy to falsely report a violent attack and giving false statements to law enforcement after claiming she was repeatedly slashed by three masked gunmen in a local park because she worked for Van Drew, a pol who had switched from Democrat to Republican in 2020.

Greene was found after the allegedly staged attack with “Trump whore” written on her stomach. U.S. Attorney’s Office

Authorities found Greene on the ground with her hands and ankles zip-tied on a trail at a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township on the night of July 23, 2025. She had dozens of bloody surgical-like slashes across her back, shoulder, chest and face. The words “Trump whore” were written across her stomach in black marker. 

But the attack was nothing but a hoax, according to the Department of Justice, which said Greene hired a Pennsylvania-based “scarification” fetish artist to cut her up. Detectives even discovered a reference photo that Greene showed the artist – and her cuts matched the image exactly, investigators said. 

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Greene had her arms and ankles zip tied when she was found. U.S. Attorney’s Office

Greene was granted supervised release in January as she awaits trial.

Childhood campmate Kristin Haughton James —  who was previously busted for cocaine possession and riding an unlicensed vehicle in the streets, a Camden court heard in January — welcomed her into her Florida home and has been acting as her custodian. 

Before moving in with Haughton James, Greene had already cycled through two other guardians – including her mother – and had been ordered to attend inpatient treatment. 

Greene was a law student when the scandal broke out. Instagram / Natalie Greene

But the arraignment quickly descended into a nightmare, Haughton James revealed. 

“I have never met chaos incarnate until I met this person,” she told NJ.com. “Lives for the drama – wants everything to be about her.

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“She just feeds off attention.”

She claimed Greene left her home a wreck, tried to get her evicted and falsely told cops that she was dealing drugs and threatened her with a gun. 

Haughton James said she kicked her out in March. It is unclear where Greene is currently living.

Haughton James, Greene and Greene’s attorney did not return messages seeking comment.

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Husband of slain New Jersey mom begs for help in newly released 911 call | Fox News Video

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Husband of slain New Jersey mom begs for help in newly released 911 call | Fox News Video


Former homicide detective Brian Foley provides expert insights into the newly released 911 call from Conor Hanlon, whose wife, New Jersey therapist Brooke Hanlon, was found stabbed to death. Foley analyzes the husband’s emotional state and the police’s approach, noting the case’s ‘suspicious’ designation 13 minutes into the call.



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