The Zelle text scam has reared its ugly head again! First it was Bank of America customers, now Wells Fargo customers are being targeted. If you receive this text, or something similar purportedly from your bank, delete and block the number immediately. THIS IS NOTHING BUT A SCAM!!! How does it work? Like this:
The mark, or victim, receives the text, or something very similar, from what looks like their bank. As soon as they reply NO they get a call on their cell phone. The victim is told by the "bank employee" that someone is withdrawing money from their account and that they need to go into their Zelle account and replace the number listed with their first name. The caller ID even shows the call is coming from Wells Fargo Fraud Protection or something else that looks official and like it's from the bank. The scammers are then able to withdraw as much money as the account contains as they have the keys to the castle namely the name listed as a Zelle recipient.
How is the scammer able to be successful with this scam? First they play on people's fear of having their money stolen and the texts play on that fact. Second when the call comes in from "the bank" the scammers use a spoofing service that will display whatever the scammer wants it to display. Private investigators and law enforcement use these type of services quite often and they cost next to nothing to use. In some instances an astute victim has even Googled the person who claims to be from the bank and discovered that the name matches. All the con has done is a similar search themselves and knows to use a real bank employee's name when calling the victim.
Unfortunately if you are the victim of this scam your chances of recovering the money are almost zero. The banks have no requirement to return stolen funds from scams like these so you must be aware that you're going to be out the money if you do.
Our Colorado Springs professional investigators have years of experience working all types of cons/scams. If you suspect someone is trying to con or scam you, please, please, give us a call before you move forward. A conversation doesn't cost a thing and we're more than happy to provide our opinion based on over thirty years of experience. Stay safe.
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Serving all of Colorado and beyond
The mark, or victim, receives the text, or something very similar, from what looks like their bank. As soon as they reply NO they get a call on their cell phone. The victim is told by the "bank employee" that someone is withdrawing money from their account and that they need to go into their Zelle account and replace the number listed with their first name. The caller ID even shows the call is coming from Wells Fargo Fraud Protection or something else that looks official and like it's from the bank. The scammers are then able to withdraw as much money as the account contains as they have the keys to the castle namely the name listed as a Zelle recipient.
How is the scammer able to be successful with this scam? First they play on people's fear of having their money stolen and the texts play on that fact. Second when the call comes in from "the bank" the scammers use a spoofing service that will display whatever the scammer wants it to display. Private investigators and law enforcement use these type of services quite often and they cost next to nothing to use. In some instances an astute victim has even Googled the person who claims to be from the bank and discovered that the name matches. All the con has done is a similar search themselves and knows to use a real bank employee's name when calling the victim.
Unfortunately if you are the victim of this scam your chances of recovering the money are almost zero. The banks have no requirement to return stolen funds from scams like these so you must be aware that you're going to be out the money if you do.
Our Colorado Springs professional investigators have years of experience working all types of cons/scams. If you suspect someone is trying to con or scam you, please, please, give us a call before you move forward. A conversation doesn't cost a thing and we're more than happy to provide our opinion based on over thirty years of experience. Stay safe.
EXCALIBUR Private Investigation
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Serving all of Colorado and beyond
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