He couldn’t have imagined that weeks later he’d be looking at a nearly empty account.

"They were the ones who were supposed to be our protectors when it came to our account," said Wood. "In my view of them, right now, they’re the villains."

According to experts, his situation isn’t as unique as you may think.

"It’s tough, because the scammers will come at you from all angles," said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Tammy Mizer.

Mizer told FOX 13 News that you should always report concerns of fraud to your bank. Local police are a great resource too, but when it comes to scams involving any type of digital banking you need to turn to federal agents as soon as possible: which is easy through the Internet Crime Complaint Center website.

"They have a good success rate as far as getting a freeze on those accounts, and people getting their money back," said Mizer. "I’m actually impressed by the work they do there."

Wood, like most banking customers, didn’t realize there were extra steps to take. He felt like his reports both over the phone and in-person would stop the fraudulent activity in his account.

Today, he’s clawed back the money through sheer determination—but many aren’t as lucky.

A timeline documented by Wood showed that phone calls and in-person visits were made numerous times as red flags were raised. He told FOX 13 News that he was given assurances that his money would return to his account, only to be told at a later date that the money had already been transferred when he was given those assurances.

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