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  Geebo 8:00 am on September 23, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Bank of America, Chase ( 15 ), covid-19 ( 48 ), Scams ( 1,429 ), text messaging ( 37 ), Verizon ( 10 ), Zelle ( 68 )   

  Text message scams using big name companies 

  

  By Greg Collier

  We think it’s safe to assume that many mobile phone users would prefer to receive a text message than a phone call. Text message are just so much more convenient than stopping whatever you’re doing to take a call. Except, not every type of communication can be done through text messaging. For example, if you needed any kind of customer service, it would be painstakingly long to do that through text. That’s not even taking into account that text messages have become yet another domain where scammers thrive. Scammers love the anonymity that text messaging allows. This lets them pose as just about anyone, and lately, they’ve been posing as some of the best known companies in the country. We’ve recently read reports that say there a two text message-based scams that happening all over the country.

  The first text message scam we heard about recently is offering COVID-19-based discounts to customers of Verizon, one of the nation’s largest phone providers. Here is an example of what the text message says…

  “COVID-19 REFUND. VERIZON COMPANY is giving out $950 to all users of our Verizon service, If yes kindly text your Verizon.”

  As you can see, the text message isn’t very well written, which is a great indicator that the text message is a scam. The messages also contain a link that you shouldn’t click on as it could do untold damage to your device, or ask you for personal information you shouldn’t be sharing. Not only are scammers posing as Verizon, but they’ve also been posing as Netflix and Hulu, among other companies. As much as we’d like them to be, these companies aren’t in business by giving away money to their millions of customers.

  The other texting scam involves large national banks Chase and Bank of America. In this scam, victims have been receiving texts that say something along the lines of…

  Chase Bank Fraud. Did you attempt $5,000 Zelle-transfer? Reply yes/no/help.

  Or…

  “Bank of America fraud alert. Did you just attempt a Zelle transaction of $3,500? Please reply yes or no.”

  Most people would probably text no back to the sender. However, the senders are just scammers who are fishing for your banking information. Once someone replies to the text, it’s followed up with a phone call from a scammer posing as bank customer service. The scammers will then walk you through a process on Zelle that allows them access to your bank account. Before you know it, it’s been cleared out. What makes this scam so problematic is that banks do sometimes text their customers to let them know if there has been fraudulent activity on their account. In this case, it’s always best to call the customer service number on your debit card than responding to the text.

  A good way to protect yourself from such scams is to verify any text you receive about money with a phone call. Even if it’s from people you know because any phone number can be spoofed.

  Zelle scam victims may be entitled to get their money back | Greg's Corner is discussing. Toggle Comments

   

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  Geebo 8:00 am on August 13, 2021 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Bank of America, bank scam ( 74 ), San Francisco ( 9 ), Scams ( 1,429 ), Zelle ( 68 )   

  Man loses half of his savings in bank impersonation scam 

  

  By Greg Collier

  It’s a scammer’s ‘job’ to make them appear as legitimate as possible, no matter how outlandish their request might be. That’s exactly what happened to a San Francisco man recently when scammers convinced him to transfer half of his life savings to a different bank.

  The call appeared to come from the man’s bank, which was Bank of America. The name and number appeared on his phone as being from his bank, so at the start the man didn’t have a reason not to believe it wasn’t his bank calling. The scammers told him that someone was accessing his bank account in Georgia. It’s not unheard of for banks to call their customers to warn them of fraudulent activity on their accounts. So, the man still believed he was talking to his bank. However, what happened next should have been a tip off that this was a scam call.

  The scammers told him that in order to protect his money, the man needed to transfer his money to another bank account with a different bank. He was given instructions on how to use the payment app Zelle to send his money to a Chase bank account for ‘protection’.

  Of course, the Chase account belonged to the scammers, who emptied the Chase account as soon as the man’s money landed in their account. Luckily, Bank of America was able to issue him a refund, but this is the exception rather than the norm.

  If a bank calls you, it’s not wrong to be immediately suspicious. If you think it’s not your bank calling you, politely hang up and call the bank directly using their customer service number that’s on the back of your bank card or on the bank’s website. You can even go to your local branch if that’s what you prefer. Any of those avenues will be able to tell you if there is an actual issue with your account. Also, banks will never tell you to use an app like Zelle to move money around. Zelle, and apps like it, are specifically designed to pay other people or receive payment from other people. If someone claiming to be from your bank tells you to transfer money using one of these apps, there’s a high possibility it’s a scam.