What is a Bank Impersonation Fraud?
How It Works — Step by Step
- You receive a call, text, or email appearing to be from your bank
- Caller ID is spoofed to show your bank's actual phone number
- Informed of 'suspicious activity' on your account requiring immediate action
- Asked to verify identity via OTP codes (which actually authorizes scammer's transactions)
- Instructed to transfer money to a 'safe account' to protect your funds
- Alternatively: guided to install remote access software 'to help fix the problem'
- Zelle/Venmo/PayPal scam variant: bank 'confirms fraud' then asks you to reverse it via payment app
Top Countries (Victims)
Top Platforms Used
⚠️ Warning Signs
- Unsolicited call claiming to be from your bank's fraud department
- Asking you to confirm or read back OTP codes received by text
- Instructing you to transfer money to 'protect' your account
- Asking you to install any software (remote access)
- Calling your account number 'compromised' but not your contact info
- Creating urgency — 'you must act in the next 10 minutes'
✅ How to Protect Yourself
- Hang up and call your bank directly using the number on your card or official website
- Banks will never ask you to transfer money to protect your account
- Never share OTP codes — they authorize transactions, not verification
- Never install software for someone who called you
- Remember: caller ID can be faked
- Set up transaction alerts with your bank
Real Cases from Our Database
Please help! Wife sells crochet patterns and characters. This man is pushy to use "Venmo Business" and not Etsy We don't have Venmo and only have done sales through Etsy, from her shop. This guy saw a...
U.S. Did I fall for a fake Citibank scam? I realized I lost my Citibank debit card. I was out on the street and quickly googled “contact Citibank help” and the attached web page (pictured. Looks like...
Eartmoving MSU. https://emsu-equipment.com So I looked them up and they seemed legit. I wired them $35,850. They failed delivery three times so I cancelled the order. They sent me a cashiers check th...
[us] sent money to a scammer through zelle Ok so I sent money to a person I thought was my cousin through social media since I didn't think anyone would impersonatey cousin (I was wrong) they asked me...
[US] Company got scammed, but the thief didn’t seem to get anything out of it So the company I work for had two $10,000+ wires pulled from our bank account a month apart. (Yeah, it’s bad I know, but o...
FB marketplace scam… So I think I got scammed on facebook marketplace. It has been 8 days since the camera I bought was supposedly shipped, and the town is only 2 hours away from mine. I contacted my ...
Husband nearly fell for a scam My husband’s credit card was recently compromised. When it happened he received a call from our bank asking if x was a legitimate charge. He said no, they canceled the c...
[US] kind of weird call from maybe my bank No real way to know for sure now if it was a scam, but it's just been on my mind since the call so I thought I'd see if anyone has thoughts. I don't understa...
[US]IG brand commision zelle scammer Hello, there is a guy on Instagram who runs his own clothing brand who messages his followers asking if they'd like to commission a piece. He asks for payment thr...
Update: got money back from middle man wire transfer scam I made a post here yesterday on sunday and I called the bank today as soon as it opened and the bank rescinded the wire transfer. I got the mo...
Reddit Corporate Called Me? The most confusing scam call I've ever received. Asked for me by my full name, and once I confirmed they went into an "employee satisfaction survey", asked me about cliente...
Fell for a middle man employment wire transfer scam I was told I was getting a job fully remote and they sent me a check for 4.5k the. Told me to wire transfer their vendor for 4.5k then once complete...
📋 Where to Report Bank Impersonation Fraud
- Your bank's fraud department (number on back of card)
- FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov)
- FBI IC3 (ic3.gov)
- Action Fraud UK (actionfraud.police.uk) if in UK