I’ve Written About Loads of Scams. This One Almost Got Me.
The New York Times — A man identifying himself as someone from Chase Bank called the reporter, asking for him by name. He wanted to warn him that he might have been a victim of fraud. The caller ID said the call was coming from Chase Bank.
The caller had a ready answer for every response the reporter gave him.
He said he didn’t have a Chase account. The caller said someone had opened an account in his name and — just minutes ago — someone tried to use Zelle to transfer funds to a person in Texas.
He wanted to know how he could be sure it wasn’t a scam. The caller told him to Google the number on the caller ID, which matched an actual Chase branch in Times Square. Scammers can “spoof” phone numbers, making the incoming number on your phone look like any number they want.
The caller gave him a case number and offered to transfer him to a supervisor. The supervisor asked for the case number, pretended to look up the information, and explained the “situation.”
By then, the reporter felt it was legitimate and something he’d need to address. But when the supervisor walked him through the steps to reverse the withdrawal, the reporter realized that the case number had the same number of digits as a phone number.
He hung up and called his bank. Chase confirmed that it was a scam.
The reporter decided to do some research — and write an article — about why this particular scam seemed to work so much better than others.
What are common tactics scammers use in banking scams?
The caller creates a sense of urgency with the target.
The “supervisor” adds legitimacy and authenticity.
The callers overload the target with information — case numbers, cancellation codes, buzzwords.
What should you do if you get a call like this one?
Avoid answering calls from unfamiliar numbers. In the reporter’s case, the caller ID made the number look legitimate.
If someone claims to be from a bank, hang up and call the bank’s number on your debit card. Don’t call a number they give you or search online for the number.
Breathe. Take a moment to consider what’s going on. If you’re not sure if it’s a real situation, call a family member or friend.
Read the full article: I’ve Written About Loads of Scams. This One Almost Got Me.