#smart people get scammed all the time

theprofessional-amateur:

cardi-garden:

vaspider:

catsi:

twice now, i have been called by scammers pretending to be bankers telling me i’d been scammed by someone else, and that they, the scammer/banker, would cancel the fraudulent transactions made in my name as soon as i gave them a bit of information to confirm my identity.

the second guy called me from my local bank branch’s number and told me “someone in another city is attempting to make purchases with your debit card information” and after i expressed obvious distress he told me “don’t worry, this is what i’m here for. we’re going to get your cards/accounts cancelled/closed and then we’ll all i need you to do is verify the 6-digit code that i’ve sent to your phone”

that 6-digit code was the code to reset my online banking password which i didn’t realize at the time. he then got into my online banking account and e-transferred himself $2,800. my bank reclaimed the money but i had to close my bank accounts, then open new bank accounts, cancel my debit and credit cards, get new debit and credit cards, alert two credit unions that i was a victim of fraud, change all my fucking passwords, etc etc

sorry if this shit is obvious to other people but it was not to me so:

if someone calls you, claiming to be from your bank telling you that there are suspicious charges on your account, hang up on themandcall the number on the back of your debit card. worst case scenario, you hung up on someone and called a different person back but at least now you know you’re talking to someone from the bank. best case scenario, you just hung up on a scammer and are already on the line with someone to report it.

keep your head on a fucking swivel out there

Treat phone calls you get the same way you treat emails you receive. Phishing works not because of the technology but because of the way humans react to other humans. We want to trust each other.

Unfortunately, that’s what scammers rely on. I’d like to say I only saw stuff like this once when I worked in banking, but I saw it at least once a week for six years. And yes, once your accounts are compromised like this, the only option is to completely shut down the account and open new ones.

Anytime anyone calls you who is supposedly from your bank, credit union, credit card company, phone company, utilities, etc., tell them “I’ll call you back in a minute,” hang up, and call a verified number - the one on the back of your card, the one for your local branch, whatever.

If they’re really from your bank, credit union, or credit card company, they will totally understand you wanting to call them back. If they pressure you to stay on the phone or get upset, you can’t possibly hang up fast enough.

Another clue: your bank will never call you up and ask you to give them any verification code or password reset code. That’s something my own bank states during every automated phone message. Unless you sign up for paperless, official bank communication will be delivered through the post office. And even if you do go paperless, you’ll still get some Really Important communication via paper.

Same thing with those IRS scams. The IRS communicates on paper through the mail, so the scary person calling you up saying you’re going to be arrested for tax fraud unless you give them your SSN and the numbers to prepaid Visa gift cards? Scam. And there’s a similar scam going to seniors about Medicare, so make sure the older folks in your life know about it.

Former bank teller/personal banker here, if YOUR bank calls you (your actual bank) they will

• Never ask you for your account number, they have it
• Never ask you for your PIN, they have it
• Never ask for your Social Security, or other details, they have it
• They will never try to convince you not to hang up and call back

They might ask “is this charge yours? did you make a purchase for $X with Y company?” because again, the bank already has all of your info.

What you SHOULD do if you get a call/email/letter like this

1. Don’t tell them anything.Literally nothing, hang up.
2. Look at your credit card/debit card, there will be a contact number on the back, call it or you can go to your branch (You can also look up the bank’s number, do not use the number they just called from)
3. Let the bank know what happened and have them double check that there aren’t any suspicious charges or activity. They may have you speak with the fraud department who deals with suspicious account activity or a security department that deals with scams. You aren’t under suspicion, they just want all the details about any scams. When you call they will ask you for some personal info. You can also go to your physical branch and talk to them. 
4. If you got an email or physical letter, the fraud and security departments will likely want to see it. If you got a phone call they might ask for the phone number the call came from.

When in doubt, say nothing, hang up, and call a trusted number for your bank or credit card.