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Consumer Alert
By
Terri Miller
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
Did someonesupposedlyspot fraud or criminal activity on one of your accounts? Did they offer to help “protect” your money by moving it from your bank, investment, or retirement account? Maybe they even asked you to share a verification code? If anyone did any of those things, it’s always a scam. So, what do you do next?
Never move or transfer your money to “protect it.”Your money is fine where it is, no matter what they say or how urgently they say it. Someone who says you have to move your money to protect it is a scammer. Period.
Never share a verification code. Ever. Banks and retirement and investment companies use these codes for online accounts to prove you’re really you. If you share that code, the scammer can use it to provethey’reyou. No caller — especially someone from your bank or investment company’s fraud department — will ever ask for the verification code. That’s always a scam.
Stop and check it out.If you’re worried, call your real bank, broker, or investment advisor. Use the number you find on your statement — never the number the caller gave you, which will take you to the scammer.
And if you think your bank or investment fund will protect you, think again. Bank accounts have different (and fewer) protections than credit cards. If you are scammed into moving your money out of your account,you won’t be protected. And you probably won’t get that money back.
If you get a call, text, or message like this, tell your bank or fund right away. Especially if you moved money or shared a verification code. Then tell the FTC:ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Now that you know, share this advice — it could help protect your buddies and their life savings.
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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
- We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
- We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
- We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
- We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.
Jamie
July 09, 2024
I have received several calls reporting "fraud" via online banking and my debit card, as well as wire transfers. These idits have my bank name, my name, my number, and they always request my user name which is the flag. At first it panicked me. I always check with my bank. These criminals have also used my own banks fraud phone number! How did they get my information?
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sonny s lawson
July 09, 2024
Thanks for the warning.
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Darlin Jordan
July 09, 2024
I don’t know anything about this & I’ve not a such call or email from anyone trying ti move money from my bank acct , etc.
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CLINT
July 09, 2024
Hear you loud and CLEAR!!!!!
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Mark Anthony R…
July 09, 2024
The real question is, Is there a division or even a person that will help another person that has experienced identity theft without just stating in the fine print that any of the terms and (Agreements) can be changed at any given time. Or the person that stole your information has assigned a( representative) or (The Company) can continue to make any financial decision because they scammed you the best and certainly have the funds to pay or donate to the correct locations.
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FTC Staff
July 09, 2024
In reply to The real question is, Is… by Mark Anthony R…
Report identity theft at www.IdentityTheft.gov. Give details about what happened, and the system will help you create a recovery plan and Identity Theft Affidavit. Use the Affidavit when you contact businesses, debt collectors, financial services and others to correct problems.
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