Is It Your Bank Calling or a Scammer?

You get a call or text message from your bank’s fraud department warning you that someone is trying to gain access to your account. Naturally, you’re alarmed and want to take action quickly to protect your money. So you agree to be transferred to an FBI agent working on the case, who tells you that you need to empty your account and provide the cash to the government for safe keeping.

You don’t question what you’re being asked to do because it sounds legitimate. The bank representative knew the last four digits of your Social Security number. The FBI agent provides you with a badge number and knows details about your other financial accounts, which he tells you are also at risk.

As it turns out, it’s all a lie. Imposter scams like this have been surging, and many older adults have lost their entire savings to them.

The FBI has seen a double-digit increase in financial fraud involving older adults. In just the first six months of 2024, losses reached $1.6 billion, up $300 million from the same period a year ago, according to reports filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Because scammers have gotten so good at impersonating bank, government and other officials, any call, text or email you get about fraud in your account can seem real—and you could end up handing your money over to thieves. However, knowing what your bank or financial institution will and will not ask you when there truly is suspicious activity in your account can help you spot scammers.

Here’s how to tell whether it’s your bank or a scammer contacting you.

[See: 5 Signs of a Scam _]

What banks will and won’t do

It is normal for a bank to call you if there is suspected fraud on your account, says Laurel Sykes, executive vice president and chief risk officer at American Riviera Bank in California. It also is normal for a bank to ask you to confirm activity on your account, such as a text message asking you to verify whether you made a transaction by responding “Y” or “N.”

However, banks and financial institutions won’t contact you out of the blue and ask you to do any of these things. These are all signs of scams.

• Banks won’t ask you for personal information. They already know it, Sykes says. If you call your bank, you may be asked to verify your identity. But if someone contacts you and asks for your Social Security number or account number, it’s a scam.
• Banks won’t call and provide your personal information, such as the last four digits of your Social Security number. Scammers do this to gain your trust. They can get your personal information through data breaches and other means.
• Banks won’t ask you to verify your username and password. They also won’t ask for your PIN or a one-time login code sent to you by text message.
• Banks won’t ask you to transfer money as part of an investigation. “If a client wishes to open a new account because their old account has been compromised, we don’t need them to move money,” Sykes says. “We can move it for them.” So it’s a red flag if someone is telling you to withdraw money and wire it, convert it to cryptocurrency with a Bitcoin ATM, mail it or hand it over to a courier.
• Banks won’t threaten you or request secrecy. If you’re being told not to contact anyone else and to cooperate with what you’re being asked to do to avoid dire consequences, it’s a scam. “ A banker will respect if you want to hang up and call back someone you are familiar with,” Sykes says.
• Banks won’t ask you to click on a link in an email or text message to log into your account, according to the American Bankers Association.
• Banks won’t send you an email attachment, especially if you didn’t ask to be sent any sort of documents, according to the ABA. Scammers send attachments that can contain malware that will compromise your computer or device.
• Banks won’t send text messages threatening to suspend or close your account unless you take immediate action by clicking on a link provided in the message. Scammers use this scare tactic to get you to respond to messages.
• Banks won’t ask for remote access to your computer. Banks also won’t ask you to install software on your computer. Scammers use this tactic to hack your computer and gain access to your accounts.

Also, If your financial institution contacts you and connects you with someone claiming to be with a government agency, be aware that government agencies won’t threaten you. They won’t demand payment. And they won’t ask you to transfer large sums of money to catch a criminal, Sykes says.

How to protect yourself

If you are contacted by someone claiming there are fraudulent transactions on any of your accounts, take these steps to protect yourself.

1. Log onto your account online to check if there are any fraudulent transactions. If you see any transactions you didn’t make, contact your financial institution immediately by calling the number provided on your online account or statement.
2. Hang up on suspicious calls and contact your local banker to find out whether there are issues related to your account that need to be addressed. Again, if it truly was your bank attempting to contact you, it won’t be upset if you’re being cautious by hanging up and contacting customer service yourself.
3. Never click on links in emails or text messages that appear to come from your financial institution. Your bank won’t ask you to log into your account or stop a transaction by clicking on a link in a message.
4. Change your account passwords if you have provided your login credentials to anyone who contacted you asking for them or if you entered them into a suspicious website. Use a combination of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols to create strong passwords.
5. Monitor your accounts regularly for unusual activity. You can set up alerts through online banking to be notified when there are transactions on your account. Better yet, you could use a service such as Carefull, which provides 24/7 account, credit and identity monitoring and alerts you to a wide range of unusual transactions, signs of fraud and money mistakes.
6. Get a second set of eyes on your finances. Add a layer of protection by identifying someone you trust to help you keep an eye on your accounts. Carefull allows users to designate trusted contacts and give them view-only access to accounts that are being monitored or to transaction alerts.
7. Report scams. If you are a victim of a scam, file a report with local law enforcement and with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Reporting scams can help law enforcement identify scammers and build a case against them to stop them from targeting others.

Cameron Huddleston

Cameron Huddleston is an editor-at-large at Carefull and the author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations With Your Parents About Their Finances _.