Change your passwords often and do not pick passwords that someone could easily guess.
#Bank of america fake bank statement password
But they didn't have to.Ĭyber security experts recommend that you have your bank's phone number in your contacts so you can call them immediately if you ever get one of these texts or calls.Īlso do not use the same password for all of your accounts. You are not going to see it again."Īfter we reached out to Bank of America, the bank generously or replenished Broaden's accounts. Hang up! The banks will not ask you to do that, because once you transfer that money out, it's just like you gave cash away to the bad guy. "She said you're the second call that she has had personally that day, that the scammer had gotten them," Broaden recalled.īroaden is now trying to warn others, after learning the hard way, that if your bank texts or calls you to move your money, it's probably not your bank.Īugenbaum is also trying to warn people, recommending if you get a text or call like Broaden's, "Stop. Immediately, she called Bank of America to report what had happened. It wasn't until later that afternoon when she was done at the salon that she discovered her money was gone. "They were setting up a Zelle thing with a Chase account, and I had no idea that that's what they were doing and that's how the money was taken out from my account, and it looked like that I had Zelle'd money from myself to myself," Broaden said. It was this spoofing technology that made it appear to Broaden that the texts and phone calls were coming from her bank.īroaden says the caller told her they would need to set up a new account and then he transferred her money using Zelle, an online payment app. And now they go and they cut and paste a legitimate bank text message, and then they spoof it which means they fake it," Augenbaum told NewsChannel 5 Investigates. Once the cybercriminals figure out yours, it's not hard to do because so many people use the same email address and password for all of their accounts. "The cybercriminals have almost 8 billion usernames and passwords," he explained. Not only did the scammer have Broaden's name and phone number, they also had the last four digits of her social security number and debit card.īroaden said the scammer had other information about her bank accounts that someone would only know if they had accessed those accounts.Īugenbaum says the scammer probably had accessed her accounts. Don't call back to the number that sent you the text, but realize the cybercriminals are scamming us," he said. "If you get an email or a text message from your bank or your credit card company or anyone asking you to do something, pick up the phone and call the bank's telephone number. "The man identified himself as a David Singletary with Bank of America's Fraud Department and they actually called from the Bank of America number that is located on the back of my debit card," Broaden explained.īut, within minutes, the man had cleared out Broaden's personal savings and checking accounts as well as both of her salon's accounts with B of A.įormer FBI agent and cyber security expert Scott Augenbaum says no one is safe. Again, she said, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No money has been deducted from your account and one of our representatives will be reaching out to you shortly,'" Broaden recalled. "Then, the next message came through from them and it says, 'Thank you. So, she quickly replied, no, she had not just tried to make a purchase in Houston, Texas. It even included the last four digits of her account. Broaden had gotten texts like this before from her bank and this one seemed to come from the same Bank of America number as the others.