Tip of the Month | June 2024

Latest Scam Alert

Written By: Andrea Bulen, CFP®

This past week we learned about a new multi-step and targeted scam that is happening in our area. Please spread the word. Here are the details:

1 – Victim has debit card information stolen without knowledge (in this particular case, it was likely compromised at a restaurant).

2 – Criminal uses debit card to make a small transaction that they KNOW will trigger the bank’s fraud department.

3 – Bank’s automated fraud department legitimately contacts the victim who confirms that the transaction was fraudulent.

4 – Within 10 minutes of getting the first legitimate phone call from the bank where NO confidential information was given, the victim receives a SECOND call, this time from the criminal.

5 – Victim is now not surprised when they get the second call and trust the criminal. The criminal identifies themselves as being from the bank and they even know the specifics of the fraudulent transaction (because they made it).

6 – Criminal describes they need all of victim’s identifying information (bank account numbers, SSN, passwords) to handle the fraud.

7 – Victim could easily not realize this for a while because they assume the bank is handing the fraud, which gives the criminal plenty of time to login to the victim’s accounts, make transactions, etc.

Remember, if you ever receive a call from a financial institution, it is ok to tell them you’ll call them back. Make sure to call the phone number on your statement or the back of your card and NOT the phone number they gave you.

If you or a friend find yourself to be a victim of a scam, here is a handout of resources from our webinar discussing identity theft: Simple Safeguards Handout