An Alhambra grandmother, who says she lost all of her savings to a man who befriended her online, believes her bank could have done more to protect her and advocated for a state bill that would have required banks to do more.
Gov. Gavin Newson vetoed state Senate bill 278 over the weekend.
“I cried, you know. At first, I was numb. I thought how could this be,” Alice Lin, 81-year-old victim of wire fraud and supporter of the bill, said. “This bill you know would really, really help a lot of people from losing the money,” she said.
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NBC4's I-Team met Lin in January when she first shared her story, saying how a man befriended her online and persuaded her to wire money to an account.
She says bank employees did not do enough to warn her about possible fraud as she wired more than $700,000 only a couple of days apart.
The proposed bill would have required financial institutions to delay certain transactions if there is “reasonable” suspicion of fraud and also inform a designated contact on an account of any suspected fraudulent transaction.
"If I were stopped, I would think about it. I have three days you know. I may think about it. I may talk to other people talk to the relatives or talk to my children. Things may turn around maybe totally different. (It) may save me and save my money,” Lin said.
In his veto message, the Governor raised concerns about some of those actions, saying in part, "the mandatory three-day hold on transactions suspected of abuse could lead to unintended consequences, such as delaying legitimate transactions and restricting access to funds.
Newsom also said the proposed enforcement provisions "need further review to ensure they are legally sound and minimize the risk of costly litigation - a burden that would ultimately fall on taxpayers."
“We ended up with no opposition on the floor of the assembly, zero opposition,” State Senator Bill Dodd (D-Napa) said.
Senator Dodd, who authored the bill, told the I-Team the proposal went through multiple committees which worked with financial institutions and consumer advocates over a two-year period to get passed in the legislature. He believes the veto comes at a larger expense.
“People are getting ripped off across this state, across our country, in numbers that are just astronomical,” Dodd said.
According to the latest information from the Federal Trade Commission, older adults reported losing more than $1.6 billion to fraud in 2022, compared to about $1 billion the previous year.
The Governor suggests the legislature continue refining the concept behind the bill.
Senator Dodd said they will not seek a veto override but will continue their efforts.
“I've termed out at the end of this year, so unfortunately, it's not going to be me that will be running this bill, but I assure you, there will be one of my colleagues from last year or somebody new coming in, that will pick up on this bill,” he said.
Lin said her garden has kept her from her darkest days, and on the day of the veto announcement, a flower in her garden, which she says rarely blooms, did so.
She said that gives her hope and strength to continue her fight for a new law.
“I won't give up for sure,” Lin said.
It appears the Governor was approached by at least one large bank regarding the concerns outlined in his veto.
The NBC4 I-Team asked the governor’s office if he discussed these concerns with the folks behind the bill before making his decision.
The governor's office said that the veto message speaks for itself.
As the I-Team previously reported, Lin is suing the bank that conducted the transactions. A judge recently ruled against a motion to dismiss the case by the bank.
