Your Bank Won?t Do That!
11/06/2024
Your Bank Won’t Do That!
As reports of texts impersonating banks have increased nearly twentyfold over the last five years, it is important to revisit bank impersonation scams (FTC.gov). These scams are a specific sub-set of the impersonation scam where a criminal attempts to gain trust and access to accounts by spoofing bank communications. Let’s look at some things your bank would never do.
Consumer losses due to text impersonation scams skyrocketed to $330 million in 2022 (FTC.gov) and show no signs of slowing down. Most of these scams were criminals impersonating a bank. Knowledge is power, so knowing how to spot impersonators can save you from the headache of a scam.
Your bank will NOT:
- Text you and ask you to follow a link to secure your account.
- Ask you to provide your full login credentials or ask you to login via a link.
- Email you about a potential breach in security and ask you to follow a link to login and unfreeze your account.
- Call you and ask you to provide full account numbers, social security numbers, PINs, or login credentials.
- Send an email with an attachment – especially if unsolicited.
- Send a text via a traditional ten-digit phone number (legitimate communications from your bank via text come from a 4-5 digit “short code”).
- Threaten you via email, phone call, text, or direct message.
- Ask you to send money to yourself or move your money from an account that does not have your name on it.
- Try to get you to act by creating a sense of urgency.
Some of this may seem a little confusing, so here are a couple of examples you may see from scammers.
Case Study #1
You receive a text from 1-800-555-5555 that says, “This is you’re bank! Please login immediately using the provided link to secure your account.”
Why this is a scam: The immediate red flag should be that the text came from a ten-digit number that is not the usual one your bank uses for text communications. The other issues are that there are spelling mistakes (you’re rather than your), they are asking you to click a link to login, and they are asking for your full login credentials.
Case Study #2
You receive an email that contains an attachment and the following message, “Your account has been hacked. Please open the attachment and follow the instructions to unfreeze your account.” You open the attachment to find a different number than the one you usually use to contact your bank and unfamiliar directions on how to get access to your account back.
Why this is a scam: First, your bank will very rarely send you emails with attachments – and never unsolicited. Next, you should always contact your bank at a known number or the number on the back of your bank card.
Case Study #3
You receive a phone call from someone who says they are from your bank. They urgently inform you of unusual account activity and demand your full account and social security numbers to proceed. Otherwise, you will lose all your money.
Why this is a scam: Most unusual activity calls are automated and ask you to confirm specific transactions. Furthermore, your bank will never need your full account number, full social security number, PIN, or login credentials to stop fraudulent charges, and you should never share these things over the phone for any reason. Your bank will also never demand your information or use fear to get you to act quickly.
These are just some of the scenarios bank impersonators can use, and it is important to remember to guard your information. When in doubt, always hang up and contact your bank at a known and trusted number.
Sources:
https://www.banksneveraskthat.com/
https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/03/never-move-your-money-protect-it-thats-scam