You Know My Banking Situation. You Must Be Calling to Help! A banking institution calls you saying there has been an unusually large withdrawal taken from your banking account.

You say, I didn’t make such a transaction! They say they need to correct it immediately, but first they want to show you the transaction. They tell you to open a browser, give you the website and show you the transaction (real time) right there while you both are on the phone.

What's REALLY happening? You don’t realize it, but they have downloaded malware on your device and are now able to see what you see. They tell you to open your online banking (all the while the malware grabs your login info). While they are talking to you (distracting you), one of their colleagues actually moved the amount of funds from your checking account to your savings account. The money hasn’t gone anywhere (i.e. – it’s still there but you don’t know they moved it to another account). They tell you the transfer cannot be reversed and that you must go to a retail outlet (like Target) buy X number of $100 gift cards, give them the card numbers and scratch off the secure codes.

Sound absurd? For sure. Do people fall for this? All the time.

Why ask for gift cards? They are untraceable. Gift card payment is another sure sign of a scam. This tactic doesn’t only work via a phone call. The very same tactic can come via an email or tex**t.

What should YOU do?

1. If you get such notifications, you need to do three things.
2. Hang up or ignore the text or email.
3. Report it as spam & block it if that is an option.
4. Delete it immediately after reporting it as spam.

While you may think you are being helpful, you are opening yourself up to identity theft or financial loss.