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  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 28, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, , ,   

    Is Zelle deflecting blame for role in scams? 

    Is Zelle deflecting blame for role in scams?

    By Greg Collier

    The Zelle scam has been grabbing headlines since at least last October. In that time, the seven banks that own Zelle have done little to prevent scammers from using their platform to steal from their customers. It seems the only way victims can ever get their money back is by contacting their local media. This should not be the way for customers to resolve issues over an app that is obviously plagued with security issues. Recently, a representative from Zelle gave a comment to the media that seems to sum up their ongoing stance on the scam.

    But before we get into the nitty-gritty, Zelle is a payment app that is owned by seven of some of the biggest banks in the country. Zelle is supposed to only be used between friends for things like settling a restaurant bill. Instead, scammers have used it as a virtual open door into the customer’s bank account, where the scammer can just walk in and take what they want.

    Typically, the scam works like this. You get a text message that appears to come from your bank. The text message asks if you’ve recently made a large purchase or payment. You’re then asked to reply either yes or no to the text message. When you reply to the text message, your reply will be followed up with a phone call from scammers posing as your bank’s fraud department. The scammers will walk you through a process on the Zelle app that the scammers say will protect your account from any fraudulent activity. What’s really going on is the scammers are instructing you on how to put your money in the scammer’s account.

    As we previously mentioned, the only way victims have been able to get any kind of restitution is by contacting their local media. Once the victim is featured in a news story, it’s usually just a matter of time before the bank returns their money.

    This recently happened in the Denver-area. A victim there lost $3,000 to the scam, but had her money returned by her bank once she appeared on the local news. It’s in this story where Zelle gives a comment that basically sums up their largely inactive stance on the matter.

    In a statement to Contact Denver7, the operator of Zelle wrote, “Zelle does not hold the funds. We provide messaging between financial institutions.”

    I think it goes without saying that this isn’t the correct attitude to take.

    Zelle has claimed that they have published tips on the app to help avoid scams, but that doesn’t appear to be enough since the scam keeps finding victims. It also doesn’t help that Zelle offers little in the way of protections if it’s used in a fraudulent manner. Since Zelle is owned by seven different banks, it gives the illusion of protection, whether that’s warranted or not.

    If Zelle and its owners want to encourage users to use their app, staying silent while their customers lose money isn’t the way to go about it.

    If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from your bank, politely end the call and call your bank’s customer service department back at the correct customer service number. The number can usually be found on the back of your debit card or on the bank’s website.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 18, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , bank scam, , ,   

    Is the Zelle scam getting more sophisticated? 

    Is the Zelle scam getting more sophisticated?

    By Greg Collier

    Previously, we have said that scams are almost like living organisms. They’re constantly evolving and changing as people start catching on to the original scam. However, a scam can bed tweaked just enough to find a whole new generation of victims. One of those scams that has evolved quickly in a short time is the Zelle scam.

    For those who may not know, Zelle is a payment app that works along the same lines as Venmo. The main difference between Zelle and Venmo is Zelle is co-owned by some of the country’s largest banks. Many of these banks’ apps have Zelle already built-in. For about the past six months, the Zelle scam has been one of the most reported scams in America.

    The Zelle scam starts when you get a text message that appears to come from your bank. The text message asks if you’ve recently made a large purchase or payment. You’re then asked to reply either yes or no to the text message. When you reply to the text message, your reply will be followed up with a phone call from scammers posing as your bank’s fraud department. The scammers will walk you through a process on the Zelle app that the scammers say will protect your account from any fraudulent activity. What’s really going on is the scammers are instructing you on how to put your money in the scammer’s account.

    In the Salt Lake City-area of Utah, a new variation of this scam has been reported. In it, the scammers skip the text message and go straight to the phone call. A bank customer will be told they’re speaking with their bank’s fraud department and fraudulent activity has been spotted on the customer’s account. The scammers will even tell the customer their last few bank transactions. A made up transaction is added to that list to make it seem like there’s been a fraudulent charge to the customer’s account.

    At this point, the scammers will ask the customer if they want to sign up for a fraud notification service. If the customer says yes, they’ll be texted a security code. The scammers will then ask for that code to supposedly verify that they have the right phone number. The code is actually an authorization code to change the customer’s password. Once the scammers have the code, they lock the customer out of their own account and start transferring the funds to another account through Zelle. Since the Zelle app doesn’t have the same protections as something like a credit card, it has become increasingly difficult for scam victims to recover their lost money.

    If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from your bank, politely end the call and call your bank’s customer service department back at the correct customer service number. The number can usually be found on the back of your debit card or on the bank’s website. Don’t just do a Google search for the bank’s number, as that could lead you to an entirely different fake customer service department.

    Lastly, if you receive a text message or email with any kind of security code on it, do not give it to anyone. These codes are mostly used for password recovery or resetting a password. If you give the code to someone you don’t know, they could have access to your most sensitive accounts.

     

    • Alvaro Urbaez (@urbaez22) 8:59 am on April 20, 2022 Permalink

      I fell in another variation. I call it as the third party payment, and is very often in criptocurrencies portals like Binance or Coinbase.. Some one offers for your coins, but the payment via Zelle is sent by a third person, you verify the addition of the money to your account, so you release the coins; a few hours later, the owner of the other account (the third person) files a claim on their bank telling them they didn’t perform that payment; the bank will retain the funds on your account, and eventually will debit them in order to return them to that third person. So, you lose your money, and the scammer goes away with it, and the bank won’t even allow you to file a claim on that.. It happened to me with Bank of America. They have a serius security breach on that matter, and the responsible for the exploit was me, and like me there are lots of people affected..

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 8, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, , , ,   

    Victim loses $25K to disturbing bank scam 

    Victim loses $25K to disturbing bank scam

    By Greg Collier

    A woman from Waco, Texas, recently lost $25,000 to scammers who were posing as her bank’s fraud department. The victim was asked by the caller if she had made a $25,000 advance from her account. The victim replied she hadn’t and was given instructions on how to move the $25,000 to keep the money from being lost. What the victim actually did was move the money from her account into the account of the scammer. Some may ask, why would anybody allow their money to be taken like that? When you see how the scammers convinced the victim to do so, you may then think that anyone could have fallen for this scam.

    The scammers convinced the victim that they were calling from the bank by reciting the victim’s transaction history to her. According to the victim, she didn’t give the scammers any personal information. The scammers were said to have already been in possession of the victim’s account number. We wondered how the scammers were able to obtain the victim’s account number and transaction history like that. According to security experts, scammers can spoof the victim’s phone number when calling the victim’s bank. This allows the scammers to get the victim’s account number and partial transaction history without needing any additional authentication. When a scammer is armed with that kind of information, it wouldn’t be difficult to get almost anyone to fall for that scam.

    The best way to protect yourself from such a scam is to end the call, and then calling your bank’s customer service number on the back of your debit card. Even if the caller ID said the call was coming from your bank, don’t take it at face value. Scammers often spoof the bank’s phone number to make the call seem more convincing. Also keep in mind that if there had been fraudulent activity on your bank account, your bank can usually correct the matter on their end. They typically don’t have you close an account and open a new one to protect you from fraud. That is fraud in itself.

     

  • Geebo 8:00 am on April 5, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , bank scam, , ,   

    Is this the only way for Zelle scam victims to get their money back? 

    Is this the only way for Zelle scam victims to get their money back?

    By Greg Collier

    The Zelle scam has been garnering headlines since at least last October and shows no signs of relenting. If this is the first you’re hearing about the Zelle scam, this is the scam where bad actors get you to transfer money through the Zelle app to the scammers under the guise of protecting your bank account.

    To further clarify, the way the scam works is the scammer will send you a text message that appears to come from your bank. The text message asks if you recently made a large purchase or transfer. You’re asked to reply YES or NO to the text message. If you reply to the text message, you’ll receive a call from the scammer posing as your bank’s fraud department. The scammer will tell you that to protect your money, it needs to be moved through Zelle. What the scammer is really doing is walking you through the directions on how to move your money from your account to the scammer’s account. The scam has become so prevalent that some scammers are even taunting their victims after taking their money.

    The banks who co-own Zelle have been inconsistent with whom they deem worthy enough to receive a refund. In the majority of instances, the banks tell scam victims since the victims authorized the transactions, the victims are out of luck. The Zelle platform offers little in the way of consumer protection.

    Those who do receive refunds from their banks seem to be those who go to their local media with their stories. It appears the banks are responding to bad press rather than customer concern. While the scammers are ultimately to blame for victims losing their money, there comes a time when a platform has to step up to protect their customers. So far, all that Zelle seems to be doing to protect its users is to wag their finger at the victims who have lost money through their app. How much bad press will it take before Zelle’s owners start implementing precautions to prevent these scams?

    If your bank uses Zelle, there are a few ways to protect yourself from this scam. The first is to not respond to text messages that appear to come from your bank. If there is an issue with your account, you’re always better off calling the customer service number on the back of your debit card. You can also visit your bank’s local branch during business hours. The best way to protect yourself is to keep in mind that payment apps like Zelle are only supposed to be used with people you know. If someone says you need to use one of these apps to protect your money, they’re more than likely a scammer.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on March 11, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, identity protection PIN, , , , , , ,   

    Scam Round Up: Protect yourself from tax scammers and more 

    By Greg Collier

    This week on the Scam Round Up, we’re bringing our readers a great tip, a new scam, and a reminder of an old scam.

    ***

    One of the more prevalent tax related scams over the past few years has been scammers filing a tax return in your name, so they can claim your refund check. Previously, we’ve recommended filing your tax return as early as possible to beat the scammers, but that isn’t always possible. However, there is another way to prevent fraudulent returns being filed in your name. The IRS has an option where you can get an identity protection PIN. This is a six-digit number that only you and the IRS know. If this number is not included on your tax return, it will not be processed by the IRS. If you’d like to know more about the identity protection PIN or apply for one, you can find more information at the IRS website.

    ***

    A Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina has recently uncovered a scam that could be affecting people nationwide. According to the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, scammers are stealing money from bank accounts where the account holder may not notice the missing money. They give estate accounts as an example. The scammers will then send a check to an unsuspecting victim asking them to deposit the check, keep a portion of it, and wire the rest overseas. The Sheriff’s Office found a man who was just getting ready to wire close to $200,000 overseas. If you have an account like an estate account, you may want to check on it periodically to make sure there are no fraudulent transactions. Also, no matter how good the promise of money may be, never deposit a check from a stranger then wire the money somewhere else. Not only could this be a fraudulent check, but you could also potentially get in legal trouble for helping to facilitate the scam.

    ***

    Lastly for today, the Border Patrol scam is making headlines again. This is where scammers will pose as agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Victims will receive a phone call that says Border Agents intercepted a box full of drugs and money that was supposedly being shipped to the victim. Other times, the scammers will say that a car rented in the victim’s name was found with drugs in it near the Southern Border. In either case, the scammers will threaten the victim with arrest if they don’t pay a fine. As with most modern scams, the scammers will ask for payment in non-traditional means like cryptocurrency or gift cards. Always keep in mind, no law enforcement agency will ever ask for money over the phone or threaten someone with arrest over the phone.

    ***

    We hope you found this post informative, as nobody should ever have to endure the damaging schemes of scammers.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 21, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, , , , , ,   

    Even sending money to yourself through Zelle is a scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Before we get started with today’s blog post, we wanted to share this article from The Guardian about why we shouldn’t blame the victims of scams. Please keep in mind that anyone could fall for a scam, and it doesn’t help to mock those that do.

    In today’s post, we’re going to discuss a scam that we’ve been focusing on a lot lately. Once again, the Zelle scam has turned up in the headlines again. For those who may not know, Zelle is a payment app that is co-owned by a number of high-profile banks. Since at least Fall of last year, scammers have been using Zelle in a customer service impersonation scam to get their victims to empty their bank accounts.

    The way the scam works is the scammer will send you a text message that appears to come from your bank. The text message asks if you recently made a large purchase or transfer. You’re asked to reply YES or NO to the text message. If you reply to the text message, you’ll receive a call from the scammer posing as your bank’s fraud department. The scammer will tell you that to protect your money, it needs to be moved through Zelle. What the scammer is really doing is walking you through the directions on how to move your money from your account to the scammer’s account.

    Recently, another level to this scam has been added. A number of Wells Fargo customers have reported falling for the Zelle scam. However, in the latest instances, the scammers had their victims open Zelle accounts in the victims’ names before transferring the money. This lends an appearance of legitimacy to the scam, since the account is in the customer’s name. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop the scammers from taking the money sent to the new Zelle account.

    Since Zelle is co-owned by some of the nation’s leading banks, many consumers think that there is some form of protection against scams, but that is not the case. Victims of the Zelle scam rarely ever recover their money.

    There are a few ways to protect yourself from this scam. The first is to not respond to text messages that appear to come from your bank. If there is an issue with your account, you’re always better off calling the customer service number on the back of your debit card. You can also visit your bank’s local branch during business hours. The best way to protect yourself is to keep in mind that payment apps like Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App, are only supposed to be used with people you know. If someone says you need to use one of these apps to protect your money, they’re more than likely trying to rip you off.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 17, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, , , , ,   

    Keeping secrets for scammers 

    Keeping secrets for scammers

    By Greg Collier

    A man from Indiana recently fell victim to a tech support scam. A pop-up appeared on his computer that said his computer had been compromised, and he needed to call Microsoft at the attached phone number. However, the phone number didn’t actually go to Microsoft. Instead, it went to a call center run by scammers posing as Microsoft technicians. They told the man his computer had been hacked. The disturbing part was that the scammers knew what bank the man used and the last four digits of his bank account. The scammers used this knowledge to convince the man that his bank account was in danger, and he needed to move his money to protect it. The man was instructed to go to his bank and wire transfer his money to a bank account set up by the scammers. In total, the man lost $79,000 to the scammers.

    To get around any suspicions the bank may have had regarding the large transfer of funds, the scammers instructed the man to tell the bank that he was starting a business with his daughter in Thailand. As more people become aware of scams, scammers will come up with lies for their victims to try to avoid detection. We have seen this ploy used in several different scams. Sometimes it’s the phony grandchild telling a grandparent not to tell the rest of the family they need bail money. Other times it can be a fake police officer threatening a victim with arrest and giving victims the lie to tell a store employee if they get suspicious about why the victim is buying so many gift cards. Often, banks, stores, and money transfer companies are aware of many of these scams and will ask probing questions to try to rescue victims from a scam. Anytime you need to make an emergency financial transaction and someone asks you to keep quiet about it, the odds are you’re being scammed.

    As far as tech support scams go, virtually no legitimate company will tell you to call them through a pop-up window. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Facebook tend to discourage end users from trying to call them. Also, you should never call any phone number that appears on a pop-up window, as it’s almost guaranteed to lead you to a scammer. If you really feel the need to try to call the company mentioned, don’t just use the first phone number that comes up in a web search, as they can be scam numbers as well. Only use phone numbers you get directly from the source, such as a company’s official website. Lastly, you should never let anyone you don’t know to have remote access to your device.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on February 4, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, , , , , ,   

    Zelle scam shows no signs of stopping 

    Zelle scam shows no signs of stopping

    By Greg Collier

    It’s been a few weeks since we last talked about the ongoing scams taking place through the Zelle banking app. If this is the first you’re hearing about it, these scams have been going on since at least this past fall. It starts when you get a text message that appears to come from your bank. The text message asks if you’ve recently made a large purchase or payment. You’re then asked to reply either yes or no to the text message. When you reply to the text message, your reply will be followed up with a phone call from scammers posing as your bank’s fraud department. The scammers will walk you through a process on the Zelle app that the scammers say will protect your account from any fraudulent activity. What’s really going on is the scammers are instructing you on how to put your money in the scammer’s account.

    The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, recently saw a dramatic increase in this scam. At least eight victims contacted the local ABC News affiliate saying they had been scammed through Zelle. Now, that may not seem like a lot of people being scammed, but you have to keep a couple of things in mind. The first is that not everyone who is scammed comes forward. Many people are too embarrassed to come forward after being scammed. This is why no one should ever be criticized for falling for one of these scams. The other thing is, scammers only need to find a handful of victims to make the scam profitable.

    For example, one of the victims who came forward in Charlotte said they lost $3500 to the scammers. Let’s just say that each of the victims lost a comparable amount. That’s $28,000 that a scammer potentially made in two weeks.

    If you receive a text message from your bank asking about a transaction, do not reply to it. Instead, call your bank’s customer service number on the back of your debit card or on the bank’s website. If you’ve lost money to this scam, it’s recommended that you file a police report right away before contacting your bank. This is not a guarantee you’ll get your money back, but in some instances it has helped. Lastly, if you use Zelle, think about opening a separate account with your bank that only has a small amount in it for Zelle transactions. That way if a scammer does get access to your Zelle the loss will be at a minimum.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on January 25, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, , , ,   

    Check washing scam hits Conn. town hard 

    Check washing scam hits Conn. town hard

    By Greg Collier

    Police in West Hartford, Connecticut, have been receiving an inordinate number of complaints from residents who had checks stolen from mailboxes. Thieves will steal mail from both residential and public mailboxes in hopes they’ll find a handwritten check. Once they find a check, the thieves will attempt to remove the ink in a process called check washing. The checks will be bathed in a chemical solution that removes the handwritten ink while leaving the rest of the check intact. This allows them to rewrite the check in any amount. As long as there are sufficient funds in the account, the check can be cashed.

    The West Hartford Police are saying that the thieves use a custom-made tool that allows them to steal mail from most mail collection boxes. They also say that the thieves have been taking outgoing mail from residential mailboxes as well. Banks will reimburse customers if their checks are stolen, but that won’t stop the inconvenience of a payment not reaching its intended recipient.

    The best way to protect yourself against check washing is switching to all electronic payments. However, in some cases, only a check can be used. In those cases, when mailing a check, make sure to drop it off inside the post office during business hours. Leaving it in a mail collection box overnight could leave you vulnerable to mail theft. There are also special pens you can buy that are resistant to check washing. Lastly, as a good rule of thumb, you should never leave outgoing mail containing a check in your home mailbox. More mail is stolen from home mailboxes than USPS mailboxes.

    While this most recent story of check washing comes from Connecticut, check washing is a problem that’s been affecting consumers nationwide.

     

  • Geebo 9:00 am on January 12, 2022 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: bank scam, , ,   

    New twist on banking text scam 

    By Greg Collier

    Since this past October, we’ve been warning our readers about the Zelle scam. This is when scammers pose as your bank’s customer service department and try to tell you that there’s been fraudulent activity on your bank account. The scammers will then instruct you to move your money through the payment app Zelle to protect your money from bad actors. What they’re really doing is directing you to move your money from your bank account to the scammer’s account.

    The Zelle scam starts when the victim receives a text message asking them if they recently made a substantial payment or purchase. The text asks you if you made this transaction and asks you to text back a response of yes or no. If you respond to the text either way, the scammers will call you, posing as your bank. Now, a new banking text scam has appeared that shares aspects of the Zelle scam but doesn’t use Zelle.

    In Pennsylvania, bank customers there have received texts informing them that a new payee has been added to their account. That is supposed to mean that someone has been added to the account who can withdraw money. The link contains a text to click on if you did not add this payee to your account. The report doesn’t state where the link takes you, but usually in these scams, they either take you to a fake banking site that tries to steal your information, or a site that will inject malware or spyware on to your device.

    If you ever receive a text that appears to come from your bank about fraudulent activity, do not respond to it, and don’t click any attached links. Instead, call the customer service number on the back of your debit card, or drop by your local branch during business hours.

     

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