Fraud Alert! FCPD’s Tips to Spot a Bank Imposter Scam

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Fairfax County, VA – FCPD’s Financial Crimes Unit wants to provide our community with the tools to spot a scammer posing as a bank or financial institution.

Scams take many forms, but one of the most common is the bank imposter scam. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ranked this the top scam of 2022. According to the FTC, the median reported loss for this scam was $3,000 from 2019-2022. Understanding the scam and ways to spot it is the first step to protecting your hard-earned money.

The Scam:

These scams begin when suspects text or call posing as banks and notifying victims of fraud alerts or breaches on their account. If you reply to these text messages or answer these cold calls from unknown numbers, the scammer will contact you pretending to represent the bank’s fraud department and ask you to verify personal and banking information. Scammers can “spoof” phone numbers and appear on your caller ID as coming from a known number. At some point, they may ask you to log in to your bank and provide them with a confirmation code sent to your phone or recent bank transaction information. The scammer then uses this personal and banking transaction information to contact your bank pretending to be you and steal money from your account.

Prevention:

  • Just HANG UP: If an unsolicited call or text comes from an unknown number just hang up or delete it. You may independently verify the contact information of your bank’s fraud department through their official phone app or website contact information and contact them yourself.
  • Don’t Share Personal Information: Never share personal or financial information over the phone unless you initiated the call and are certain of the recipient’s legitimacy.
  • Never Let Anyone “Remote” into your Computer: Scammers may pretend to be trying to “fix” your computer or refund money for an alleged fraud charge. Do not allow someone to remotely access to your computer.
  • Verify Caller Identities: Always confirm the identity of the person or organization contacting you; hang up and call the institution by using their known contact information from official websites, official bills, invoices, etc. APPLE, MICROSOFT, Norton, MacAfee, eBay, PayPal, AMAZON, or GOOGLE will NEVER call you on the phone and ask for any kind of payment.
  • Nobody Asks for Payment in Gift Cards: Anyone who calls you on the phone, requires you to stay on the phone, and asks for payments with gift cards of any kind (Greendot, iTunes, Google Play, Target, Walmart etc.) should be considered suspicious and it is likely a scam. Other fraud indicators are requests for money through wire transfers (MoneyGram, Western Union, Walmart to Walmart, Zelle, Venmo, CashApp) or deposits into Bitcoin ATMs.
  • Consult with Family or Friends: Before making any financial decisions, especially those involving large sums or unfamiliar technologies, consult with trusted family members or friends.

Other important tips:

  • Law Enforcement will never call you on the phone and ask you to pay money to avoid arrest or post a bond.  Other common scams include notices of missing jury duty or a Federal Agent calling you to say your name and identity has been discovered being involved in criminal activity or money laundering.  The FBI, DEA, SSA, DHS, ICE, FTC, IRS, or any local police, just to name a few, will never call you on the phone and ask for money for any reason.

If you have been a victim of a financial crime, please contact the Fairfax County Police Department by filing a report through our Financial Crimes Online Reporting (FiCOR) website. If you are unable to file a report on the computer, call our non-emergency line at 703-691-2131 to have an officer assist you with making a FiCOR report.

For more information about Elder fraud, visit the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crimes website by clicking HERE. If you have been a victim of elder fraud and reside outside of Fairfax County, you can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.

For ongoing updates, please read our blog and follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram at @FairfaxCountyPD.