Be on the lookout for a new phone scam
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The Better Business Bureau of Alabama are warning folks about a fast growing phone scam that targets your bank account when you least expect it.
People are pretending to be with the bank’s fraud department and are looking to obtain information on your account.
That text message comes in claiming that there are suspicious withdrawals on your account. Several callers have come in that have been hit with the scam.
The scam has been very convincing. Mainly because the phone number that pops up on the text is the actual phone number of the bank that the customer uses.
They are asking for a reply to access you account information. The Better Business Bureau is well aware of the scam.
“It will either say that you account has been frozen or they need to check on a charge, or they want to verify this charge was correct. They are basically trying to get you to call them or click a link,” says representative Ande Kral.
Once they get you to call them or click the link, they will ask you for your account information and the PIN number to your account. Text messaging is so common, that the thieves have been successful... and they won’t stop until they get exactly what they are looking for.
“You might be nervous if you get a text message that says your accounts been locked or there’s been a giant withdrawal that you didn’t know about. And that’s how they get you,” Kral says.
The Better Business Bureau recommends that if you DON’T recognize the number do not answer the text. Call the number on the back of the ATM card instead.
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