Cases of fraud are on the rise. We are concerned about those that are targeting our community. We feel that it is very important for you to understand the basics of these scams. We want you to be able to protect yourself and your family from falling victim to the very real-seeming scenarios.
Many times, the con artists impersonate bank associates and/or a financial company, including tech support or even Fraud Department employees. Typically, the criminal will use text messages, direct phone calls to you, even chat boxes, claiming to have found an issue with your account. The con artist will tell you things like fraudulent charges or technical issues occurred with your online account. In some cases, the crook will ask you to withdraw money—including enormous amounts of money—and that you should lie to the teller at the bank or the financial associate about the withdrawal he or she is encouraging you to take at this moment. Other times, the con artists tell you to go to a website (A.K.A. URL) or use a QR code that will completely drain your bank account. Most of the time, the impostor will work hard and get you worked up to get you to reveal personal information, including your username and password, debit/credit card information, and even your Social Security number. Don’t do it – Hang up, quit the chat or delete the email immediately!
If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from a Bank or a Financial Institution, beware of the following warning signs:
- Extreme pressure to make a quick decision or decisions especially based on threats that feel real and serious. The imposter may even tell you they are sending over someone right away to arrest you if you don’t pay up or do what they ask of you at that moment. If you’re speaking with a real Bank or Financial Associate, you should never feel pressured into making choices about your account. Real employees will treat you better than that person on the other end of the line.
- The criminals will use tactics that involve you turning over Multifactor Authentication (MFA) codes from your phone, email, etc. These codes verify your identity and therefore play a large role in protecting your transactions, including on Zelle, in wire transfers, or with credit or debit cards.
- The criminal will deman that you lie or keep transactions secret. In general, all Banks and Financial Institutions will take your financial wellbeing seriously, including keeping all transactions above-board.
Remember your Bank and Financial Institutions will never call or text you and ask for your personal or account information. If you think your account security has been compromised, then please contact the institution immediately using the phone number provided on your monthly statements or credit card. Never ever use the phone number the person on the other side gives you as it is a fake. There will be another imposter on the phone line the bad guy is giving you. They are out to steal your money or have you purchase things like gift cards and take those as payment. That money will be gone in an instant and you’ll never get it back.
Bonus Material –
Did you know that these criminals even go after children? They use the chats in the gaming rooms to start up conversations that sometimes your child may regret having that conversation as they were tricked into a tricky conversation. It can even happen with children and their gaming accounts. They will tell the child in the chat that they are going to contact the police and tell them something to get them in trouble to take your money or to get codes from you for game purchases. They are out to steal your money and sometimes they have you purchase things like gift cards and take those as payment. That money will be instantly gone and you’ll never get it back. Do not feel threatened by a chat, no matter what the other person in the chat tells you. That person is a scam artist and a criminal. Quit the chat and change your settings to ignore that person.