Got a call about fraud activity on your bank account? It could be a scammer (2024)

FAQs

Got a call about fraud activity on your bank account? It could be a scammer? ›

Stop and check it out.

All consumers are reminded that banks or the police will never contact you asking for your online banking password or for you to transfer money to a new account for fraud reasons.

Secure your online accounts with strong passwords and 2FA

If scammers have access to your phone number, they could potentially use it to hack into your online accounts — including your email, social media, and even your bank account.

Suspicious addresses supplied, such as a mail drop or prison, or phone numbers associated with pagers or answering service. Social Security number provided matching that submitted by another person opening an account or other customers. An address or phone number matching that supplied by a large number of applicants.

Scammers can use all sorts of tricks to figure out which bank you use, including your social media and Internet activity (or just by guessing a major bank). They send you communications — mail, email, text messages, social media messages, etc. — that appear to be from your bank.

Legitimate bank staff typically only contact customers regarding suspicious account activity or to follow up on a previous inquiry. They don't cold call to “confirm” personal information. Any unsolicited contact should raise red flags.

Can you get hacked by answering a phone call? It's impossible to get hacked by simply answering a phone call made through your network service provider. But that doesn't mean a phone call can't be exploited to compromise your security via a social engineering attack.

The caller ID may even look like it's coming from your bank. Scammers can spoof their phone number to look like it's an official bank number.

Suspicious activity is any conducted or attempted transaction or pattern of transactions that you know, suspect or have reason to suspect meets any of the following conditions: 1 Involves money from criminal activity. 1 Is designed to evade Bank Secrecy Act requirements, whether through structuring or other means.

Unrestricted access to assets or sensitive data (e.g., cash, personnel records, etc.) Not recording transactions resulting in lack of accountability. Not reconciling assets with the appropriate records. Unauthorized transactions.

What are the red flags of a scammer? ›

Unsolicited offers: Don't respond to unsolicited cold calls, emails, junk mail, late-night commercials or infomercials, or social media posts that are either overly attractive or fear-inducing. These are all common tactics scammers use to entice you to engage.

Your bank account number alone is not enough for someone to withdraw money from your account. Scammers can use your bank account and routing number to commit ACH fraud, make online purchases, deposit money for illegal activities, and create fraudulent checks.

The short answer is: it depends. While getting a refund after losing money to scammers is possible, the outcome depends on factors like bank policy, the type of scam, the amount lost, and how quickly the scam was reported. According to US federal law, banks must reimburse you for unauthorized transactions.

Investigators gather evidence, which may include transaction records, communication logs, and customer account histories. This phase is crucial in identifying the nature and extent of the fraudulent activity.

If they're confident that fraud has occurred and feel the case is substantial enough to warrant it, the bank may notify law enforcement agencies such as the FBI. Of course, the decision on whether or not to open an investigation is up to the law enforcement agency involved.

U.S. Bank will never contact you by phone or email to ask for your account numbers, PIN numbers, or any other confidential information. U.S. Bank only asks you for confidential information to verify your identity when you initiate contact with us. To contact us online, type usbank.com on your Internet browser.

One way to check if a number is potentially a scam is to use a reverse phone number lookup service. These websites and apps allow you to enter a number and see public information associated with it, such as the registered name, location, and carrier.