What would a scammer say to you?

Fraud Prevention Center

Through false promises, threats, tricks, or even attractive offers, scammers will say just about anything to get you to respond to their requests and follow their orders. They may even disguise themselves as a representative from your financial institution, a utility or cable company, a tech support company, or even a government agency to gain your trust. So how do you know when you are being scammed? The phrases below are common tactics that only a fraudster would say to trick you into falling for their scheme.

Payment Requests/Methods

‘Go to the store and purchase [Apple, Google, Visa] gift cards. Then, read out the code on the back of the card to me.’

Scammers always request gift cards as payment methods since the gift card numbers can be easily sent through phone, email, or social media. Once received, scammers immediately use the funds, leaving no value left on the cards.

‘We will need to create a 'secure’ account for you while we clear up this matter.'

‘You will need to withdraw all your money in cash and deposit it to the following Bitcoin ATM to ensure your money is safe.'

Anyone who tells you to withdraw all your funds in cash to create a ‘secure’ account to keep your money ‘safe’ is a fraudster. They will use made-up terms like ‘Federal Government Locker’ or ‘Secure Government Registered Account’. These do not exist and is how they try to scam you out of your hard-earned savings. Fraudsters also convince people to deposit funds into Bitcoin (or other Cryptocurrency ATMs) as they are impossible to trace and impossible to get your money back. Anyone who asks you to withdraw funds to ‘secure’ them elsewhere is looking to take your money.

Isolation

‘Don’t tell anyone about this, not even your spouse or family members.'

‘Keep this a secret, do not share it with anyone.'

Fraudsters forge a sense of secrecy to isolate you from the people you trust and who know you best. They don’t want you to have the chance to explain the situation to your family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers, because they will be quick to point out the scam and can step in to help.

‘Do not hang up the phone or end the call, you must stay on the line.'

‘Let me stay on the line when you visit the bank and put me on mute so I can hear.'

Scammers want to control you. They are skilled at keeping you on the phone by empathizing with your predicament or elevating the potential embarrassment you may have if others knew what situation you are in. This is a tactic they use to isolate you from the people who could help in understanding the situation — like a spouse or friend. When in doubt, hang up! No legitimate person or company will ever force you to stay on a phone call.

Requests for secure information

‘Read out the verification code that you just received in a text message.'

STOP! Anyone who verbally asks you to recite a verification code that you received is a scammer. This is how scammers reset login credentials to online profiles. Verification codes that you receive during the login process should ONLY ever be inputted back into the system you requested it from and never read aloud over the phone. Customer service agents will never ask you for this code.

Distrust of your credit union or bank

‘Do not tell anyone at the bank (Credit Union) what I’ve told you.’

‘The bank is 'in on it’ and there are issues with your bank that they do not want to disclose to you.’

‘If the bank teller asks you any questions, do exactly as I say.'

BankFund employees always act in your best interest. Our priority is to ensure that you and your money are safe and secure. We may ask additional questions regarding your transaction to be able to provide sound education and guidance when necessary.

Threats

‘If you don’t do this, then a police officer will come to your home to arrest you.'

‘If you don’t pay this fee or do as I say, then a warrant for your arrest will be issued.'

‘Your identity was found in connection with an active investigation connected to numerous crimes’

‘Your account was recently uncovered in a scheme that was involved with suspicious activity'

Scammers use threats that law enforcement is coming to arrest you or charge you with a crime. This is a tactic to scare you into acting with haste and urgency to avoid trouble with the law. Scammers will often describe elaborate stories of how your information was used in connection to a crime and will mention frightening topics like money laundering, graphic crime scenes, child pornography, or compromising photos to get victims to react immediately.

Scammers will say just about anything to trick you into following their orders. If you ever feel uneasy about a phone call, email, text, or what is being asked of you, talk to us! We want to make sure that you are not being scammed. Please contact us at 202 212-6400.

For additional reading, please visit the following articles:

Sure ways to spot a scammer | Consumer Advice (ftc.gov)

Phone Scams | Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (bfsfcu.org)

How To Avoid Imposter Scams | Consumer Advice (ftc.gov)