A WOMAN has investigated a suspicious bank transfer of $950 that seemed real at first.
One specific detail almost fooled her into thinking the alert was legitimate.
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The woman, Jane, reached out to Fox News for guidance about a scam text she received.
“I just got a text from Kinecta here in California that says, ‘Transfer request of $950.44 to BRYANA WHITE has been approved. If you didn’t authorize please visit (link here) to cancel now,'” she wrote.
“Is this a scam text? Should I be worried?”
Jane’s initial response was correct — this is a classic SMS scam that people should definitely be cautious about.
The scam text was asking her to approve of an alleged bank transfer from one of her accounts, as reported by Fox News.
There are a couple red flags in the text that should alert Americans about its potential for fraud.
First, most scam texts will use an urgent tone of voice to try and convince people to act quickly instead of thinking through the situation rationally.
Hackers want people to act now and fast.
Phrases like “Act now” or “Cancel now” are used to pressure the person into pressing fraudulent links without thinking twice.
Usually, scammers will include a suspicious link that they’re trying to get people to click on.
Once someone clicks on the link, it could prompt them to download malware or enter sensitive information.
In the text that Jane received, the scammer mentioned “Cryana White” and the exact amount of “$950.44” which made Jane feel like the message was legit.
Another tactic that scammers use is to create a sense of familiarity in their messages by using well-known logos or signage.
While they cannot get away with the exact look, scammers often try to imitate popular fonts and colors to manipulate people into thinking the message is real.
Bank tips for avoiding scams
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:
- Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
- Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
- Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
- Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
- Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
- Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
- Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
Those who are concerned about receiving scam texts should look out for spelling and grammatical errors — a real email or text wouldn’t have any punctuation errors.
If you think you’ve been the victim of a scam, the first thing you should do is double-check with your bank to see if there have been any unverified charges.
Locking down or freezing any vulnerable accounts would be a smart thing to do until you can confirm you haven’t been targeted.
Cyber criminals often want to lure financial information from you so if a text prompts you to enter or confirm any personal details, you should be tipped off.
Messages that seem too good to be true are also usually fake.
The most common types of consumer scams are identity theft, non-delivery scams, online car buying scams, and theft of ATM/debit and credit cards, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
To protect yourself from these scams, consider implementing a multi-factor authentication on sensitive accounts.
