Accountscamsareon the rise,targeting members of the public with warnings of unauthorized logins or account activity. Of course,some of these messages are legitimate and not part of fraudster-ledaccountscams.Scamssuch as this play on the emotions of the victim; scammers are counting on the message recipients to spring into action to protect their accounts from scammers, unknowingly becoming a victim of theaccountscamsuntil it is too late.
What are account scams?
Accountsscamsarefraudulentrobotexts, robocalls or emails thatappear to befrom a service provider, alerting you to unauthorized logins or suspicious account activity. With so many of us now using digital services or going ‘paperless’ with our communications,the reports ofaccountscamsare rising.
Some of the services thataccountscamsreported toĢƵhave impersonated:
- Bankaccounts
- Mobile payment apps
- Cryptocurrency exchanges
- Streaming services
- eCommerce websites
- Email accounts
Who is at risk of accountscams?
In today’s digital world,almost everyoneis at risk of fallingvictimofaccountscams.We rely on communications from our service providers via phone calls,SMSor email, making impersonationaccountscamsone of the most popular with scammers today.
The best rule of thumb is this – if your email address, landlinenumberor cellphone number is linked to anyservice account that you have, you are at risk ofaccountscams.
Commonaccountscams
From the reports thatĢƵ’ Robocall Protection team has seen,accountscamsare taking many differentforms. This islikely due tothemyriadof ways that we can nowcommunicate with service providers – a convenience in today’s digital world, yeta plethora of opportunity for scammers.
Common types of accountscamsinclude:
- Robocalls androbotexts(smishing)
- Phishing emails
- Fake login pages
Accountscamsexamples
ĢƵ’Robocall Protection teamhavereceivedan SMSmessage from scammers impersonating a popular cryptocurrency platform.
This messageslooks like a legitimate two-factor authenticationmessagethat the platform might send to users after requesting a withdrawal– in this case, it is afake withdrawal. However,forplatformthat the scammers are impersonating, this is notusualprocedure – an immediate red flagthat this ispart of theaccountscamsthat theĢƵteamhavebeen seeing.
For those users of the platform that called the number, believing this to be an unauthorized withdrawal from theiraccount, the followingwould havelikelyhappened:
- A scammer impersonatinga call agent for the cryptocurrency platformwarned that someone was trying to access their account and immediate action must be taken
- Scammer would thenrequestthat the targetmoved their current assets around to a different account or evenrequestthat they open an account with another app
Again, these are both immediate signs ofaccountscams. Legitimaterepresentatives will never ask a user to perform these acts.
The ĢƵ Robocall Protection team have also received robocalls impersonating mobile payment appsin an attempt toillicit funds as part of theiraccount scams.
Below is a transcript (with the company redacted) of a robocallrelated to the accountscamscurrently doing the rounds:
“Hello Kenosha Maldonado. This is the[Redacted]Fraud hotline. We are sending this automated call because someone is trying to change the password for your[Redacted]account. Ifit’snot you, please press 1.”
Thisparticular mobilepayment app alsooffers debit and credit services, so theaccount scamsimpersonating this company can gain access toa lot more accounts – and a lot more money – should their targetsbelieve the call.
Account ScamsRed Flags
Accountscamsappear legitimate on thesurface,howeverthere are many red flags that givethe phonecalls, SMSmessagesand emails away asscams.Above all, itis important not to panic or let emotion override yourrationality– this is what scammers are counting on happening.
Red flags ofaccountscamsinclude:
- Suspiciouslinks or URLs– a classic phishing tactic, the URLs may looklegitimate at first glance, howeverthere is usually something slightly different from a legitimate link. If in doubt, do not click.
- Unusual login notifications–such as the SMS messageexample above, receiving messagesregardingloginattemptsor unauthorized withdrawals are both signs ofaccountscams. These may belegitimate butalways checkwith the provider beforeclickingany links in these messages.
- Requests for personal information – any correspondence that asks for your login details, passwords or PIN numbers are not legitimate; service providers will never request your personal information.
- Urgent or threatening language–one of the universal red flags ofscam, includingaccountscams, is the use of urgent or threatening language. Legitimate businesses would nevertry and force you into making withdrawals, threaten with arrest or anything that demands immediate action.
How to stay safe fromaccountscams
Any online services can be impersonated as part of the ongoingspikesinaccount scamsthat we are seeing.The tips mentioned above can be applied to any suspicious messages claiming unauthorizedaccess to your accounts or alerting you tofake withdrawals.
If you believe that you have been a victim of accountscams, you shouldimmediatelycontact your bank and report the incident to the FTC.
It is always best practice to never engage with unknown numbers and report phone numbers being used by scammers to your carrier. If you believe you are a victim of ascam, you can report it to your localpolice, stateAttorneyGeneral’sofficeand theFTC.
Call-blocking apps, including those powered by ĢƵ Call Guardian®, are also a great resource for reporting and blocking unwanted robocalls. Stay vigilant, share information aboutscamswithothersand be sure to check our monthly Scam of the Month page for updates.
John Haraburda isProductLead for ĢƵ Call Guardian® with specific responsibilities for ĢƵ’ Communications Market solutions.
Call Guardian is a registered trademark of Transaction Network Services, Inc.
Scam of the Month
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