Can we talk about phone scammers pretending to be bank fraud departments...

I overheard a lady at the coffee shop yesterday talking about how someone called her saying they were from Chase and got her to read back a code from her phone... she lost $400 before she realized it was fake. Her bank told her they never ask for codes over the phone, but it got me thinking... are banks doing enough to warn people about this stuff? On one hand, they send generic emails nobody reads, on the other hand maybe they need to push real-time alerts right when the call happens. Has anyone else dealt with a relative nearly getting caught by one of these scams?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark4361mo ago

Banks do send emails though. Problem is nobody reads them. A quick text alert when a card is used or a scam reported would actually help.

violaramirez1mo ago

Did Mark say people don't read those emails? The real problem is banks send too many generic ones so everyone just ignores them, not that they don't send enough. A text that buzzes your phone the second a weird charge hits would actually make someone stop and think before handing over a code.

the_elliot1mo ago

My buddy actually got a call last week from someone claiming to be his bank's fraud team. They said someone tried to buy a TV in Florida with his card and asked him to "verify" by reading back a text code. Luckily his wife yelled from the other room "that's a scam!" before he could do it. He called his actual bank and they confirmed they never do that lol. That coffee shop lady's story is way too common now.