How to Spot and Avoid Fake Bank Calls and Texts

Bank impersonation scams are one of the most common and convincing frauds targeting Americans today. A caller claims to be from your bank's fraud department. They say suspicious activity was detected on your account. They sound professional and urgent. They may already know your name, part of your account number, or your address — information they bought from a data broker or found online.

Their goal is to get you to confirm or provide your full account credentials, password, or the one-time security code your bank sent you. Once they have that, they drain your account.

Here is the most important thing to understand: your real bank will NEVER ask you for your password, your full Social Security Number, or a one-time security code over the phone. Ever. These codes exist specifically to confirm that you — and not a stranger — are logging in. If you read a code to someone on the phone, you are handing them the keys to your account.

If you receive a suspicious call from someone claiming to be your bank, hang up. Then call the number on the back of your debit card or on your statement — NOT any number the caller gave you. Ask the bank if there is a real fraud alert on your account.

The same rules apply to texts and emails. Your bank may send you a fraud text asking you to confirm a transaction by replying YES or NO — that is legitimate. But clicking a link in a text to "verify your information" is not.

(Source: FTC, consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams)