CBS news anchor nearly loses life savings after phone call with 'incredibly sophisticated' scammer

A veteran CBS News correspondent has revealed just how close he came to draining his entire bank account after falling for what he's described as an "incredibly sophisticated" phone scam.

Matt Gutman, 48, shared the terrifying ordeal in a video posted to X on Friday afternoon as he walked out of a Bank of America branch in Los Angeles, admitting he'd come dangerously close to handing over his life savings to a fraudster.

"I just got completely scammed," Gutman said in the clip.

The chief news correspondent explained that he'd received a call around an hour earlier from someone claiming to work for the bank's 'fraud protection' team, who warned him they suspected people were trying to illegally withdraw money from his account.

The caller gave Gutman a name and a badge ID, and appeared to know an alarming amount about his personal banking details.

"They seemed to know so much about me, about my bank account," he said. "And then they said, 'Listen, we suspect that there is significant fraud activity at the bank branch where you bank, and what we need you to do right now.'"

Gutman said the call felt especially convincing given that his daughter's account had genuinely seen some suspicious activity recently, which only added to the illusion that the caller was legitimate.

How did the bank scam caller convince Matt Gutman it was real?

The caller then claimed two fraudsters were operating at his local branch under specific aliases, which she gave him by name, before laying out an elaborate plan to 'catch' them.

"What we need you to do in order to intercept these fraudsters is to go into the bank and withdraw everything from your bank account," Gutman recalled being told. The caller allegedly explained that Gutman taking the cash out himself would "trigger the fraudsters into action," allowing them to be caught in the act.

Gutman admitted the request struck him as odd, questioning why a 'regular citizen' would be roped into what sounded like a law enforcement operation. Still, he went into the bank as instructed.

What made Matt Gutman realise it was a scam?

It was the caller's next instruction that finally broke the illusion. She allegedly told Gutman he couldn't tell any bank employees what was happening, warning him that staff "might be in on it."

That was the moment everything clicked into place, and Gutman turned around and walked straight back out of the bank empty-handed.

"There is no way that this is possibly real, that anybody would use a regular civilian for a sting operation at a bank," he said. "And I am a journalist, and I have done scam stories so many times throughout my career, and I came so close to falling for it!"

Gutman pointed out that the most dangerous part of the scam wasn't just the financial loss, but the physical risk of walking around with thousands of dollars in cash at a location the scammers already knew.

"I was told this happens all the time, and they either rob your car or they rob you," he explained.

Reflecting on the experience, Gutman admitted it proved he wasn't quite as scam-savvy as he'd assumed. "Some of these scams are incredibly sophisticated, with people who clearly know what they are talking about and speak like they are in the profession," he said. "I'm just blown away by how good that person was. I can't get over this."

He thanked both the Los Angeles Police Department and Bank of America staff for helping him avoid what could have been a much more dangerous outcome.

How can you avoid falling for a bank fraud phone scam?

Gutman's experience has served as a reminder that these kinds of scams can catch out even the most switched-on among us, so it's worth knowing the warning signs.

Genuine banks and fraud teams will never ask a customer to withdraw cash and hand it over, either in person or via a courier, and they will never tell someone to keep the situation secret from staff at their own branch.

If you receive a call like this, the safest move is to hang up immediately and contact your bank directly using the number on the back of your card or on their official website, rather than calling back any number the caller provides.

It's also worth remembering that scammers can 'spoof' caller ID to make it look like a call is genuinely coming from your bank, so a familiar-looking number isn't proof of anything.

Any request to withdraw large sums of cash, keep bank staff in the dark, or hand money to a stranger acting as an 'agent' or 'investigator' should be treated as an immediate red flag.

If in doubt, visit your branch in person and speak to staff face to face, or report the call to Action Fraud or your bank's official fraud line.

UNILAD has contacted Bank of America and the LAPD for comment.