My name is Vanessa Walker. I am a Licensed Massage Therapist in Indianapolis. I am certified in Oncology Massage, Pediatric Autism Spectrum Disorder, and many other modalities. I own my own business and work with Little Red Door Cancer Agency as a contractor, providing free massages for cancer patients and their caregivers.

In July, I joined a sad fraternity of small business owners who have been victimized by scammers, with my bank refusing to help me recover.

On July 10, 2025, I was contacted by someone claiming they were from Regions Bank. Someone had attempted to make a purchase at Best Buy with my card, and the person wanted to verify if I had approved the purchase.

I said no. The person had me log onto a website with the Regions logo and looked legitimate. The person even verified charges on my account with me to ensure they were valid.

I got texts on my phone, purporting to be Regions, showing there were confirmation numbers, as though it was legitimate. I attempted to call Regions later that day to verify if it was valid, and they would not confirm with me because I didn't have my tax ID number with me. But I confirmed all other information.

On July 11, the same person called back and advised that someone had tried to make a payment posing as an employee. They wanted me to file a fraud claim. I thought it was still Regions and said I would file a complaint. They asked for my tax ID for the claim.

On July 14, $18,750 had been taken out, and I went to Regions to file a fraud report.

Thus far, Regions has been uncooperative. They took more than two weeks to respond and told me I had approved the money transfer. Representatives allege their system, which claims my phone was not cloned, shows my phone number is registered to Vanessa Billings.

The problem is that I have not been Vanessa Billings since the 1990s. I was married in 2001 as Vanessa Hamilton. I divorced that person and changed my name to Vanessa Walker in 2008.

If Regions’ system does not have current information, such as my legal name connected to my phone number, then I want to appeal and get my money reinstated. Regions denied my claim.

I have no employees. It's only me. I worked for Anthem BCBS for close to two decades, saving money for retirement via a 401K.

I decided to leave that position to help people feel better in mind and body. To do this, I had to take out $19,000 from my retirement account to invest in my business. I used it to help pay the mortgage for my building, buy supplies, pay for the utilities, to ultimately make my rates affordable. My oncology patients already are charged less than others because of the hardships they face.

I am now trying to find a way to pay my creditors because I normally would use the money that was stolen to help me pay my bills and cover expenses. I am hoping that maybe someone or some people may be able to help me.

I am beyond devastated, and I am trying to believe that I can bounce back with help. I work hard, and asking for help right now is hard, but I am desperate as I try to find answers.

I will file a police report and hope that it can help in some way, but I don't feel like Regions is going to make this right.