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How to Spot an Impersonation Scam
Seven tips to help you identify fraud attempts.With Impersonation Fraud on the rise, here’s what you need to know.
Impersonation Fraud scams often begin with a phone call, text, message, or email that appears to be from a trusted business. The criminals try to deceive and manipulate you into transferring money and/or divulging your personal and financial details.
Every year, people lose hundreds, even thousands, of dollars to these scams. If you’re in doubt—stop, challenge it, and protect yourself by contacting the legitimate business to confirm the caller’s story.
Here are seven things you can do to avoid being deceived.
Slow down. Talk to someone you trust before you act. But don’t use the phone number, email, or website they give you. Look it up yourself and check with the real bank, agency, person, or company to verify the story.
Don’t share your personal or financial information with someone who calls unexpectedly. Never give your temporary access code, PIN, debit/credit card number, or account number to a suspicious caller. Your bank will never ask you for this information.
Hang up or end the call. Nobody legitimate will ever contact you out of the blue, demanding money or information. Hang up. It’s a scam.
Don’t trust caller ID. Scammers know how to fake caller ID so it looks like a real, local phone number.
Never pay anyone who demands payment by wire transfer, gift card, or cryptocurrency. Only scammers tell you to pay that way.
Don’t be pressured to act quickly. If the caller pressures you to rush, hang up and contact the company directly. Don’t fall for their scare tactics.
Do not download any attachments. In most cases, it’s perfectly safe to open a scam email or text. However, the key is not to download any attachments. Attachments may contain malware such as viruses, worms or spyware.
If you feel you’ve been the victim of a scam, and you did provide personal or financial information, contact your bank immediately at their publicly listed customer service number. Often, this is found on the bank’s website. Be sure to include any relevant details and if you think a suspicious caller attempted to impersonate your bank. We’re here to help.
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