Scams and Cyber Threats

What you should know

Though there are different types of scams, the objective is the same: to convince victims to send money or enable access to their financial accounts. If you take part in a scam, you could lose more than just the funds in your account. It’s illegal to knowingly take part in a scam, and can result in hefty fines and criminal charges.

Scammers often use sophisticated tactics to commit fraud that make it hard to cancel or reverse the transaction. Common ways they convince you to send money include:

Wire transfer : Scammers may request wire transfers as part of a real estate scam or business payment scam. Because wires transfers are an immediate form of payment, they are typically irreversible.

Digital payment: Scammers may convince you to send the funds through online banking using Zelle^® or ExpressSend^® , or another payment service like Venmo or CashApp. If scammers obtain your online credentials, they can also transfer your money themselves.

Check or account deposit: Scammers may send you a fake check or make a deposit into your account. Once the money is deposited, you are asked to send all or a part of it back. After you send the money, you find out that the check bounced or the deposit is fraudulent. 

Note: You are responsible for the full amount of the check you deposited and associated check fees if it bounces. It may typically take up to 10 business days for a check to be discovered as fraudulent and returned to your bank. (This varies by state and can take up to a few years.)

Debit or credit card: After obtaining your debit or credit card number through a scam or data breach, scammers may use it to make unauthorized purchases. Set up alerts to help you track your transactions and spot unusual account activity.

Gift and prepaid card: Scammers may ask you to pay them using a gift or prepaid card in exchange for a service they provide, such as tech support. This is a popular payment method because gift cards are like cash. If you are ever asked to pay or donate in the form of a gift card or prepaid card, it’s a scam.

Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency is digital money that is not backed by the U.S. government, and once sent, is irreversible. As part of a job or investment scam, you could be asked to make a payment using cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ether. They may also make purchases using your bank account information on cryptocurrency platforms, such as Coinbase.

Here’s what you can do.

• Be wary of get-rich-quick schemes. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Avoid sending money or giving your account information to anyone you don’t know or a company you can’t verify as a legitimate. If you send money as part of a scam, you may not be able to get it back.
• Beware of scammers impersonating a tech support company, fraud department, or government agency through a phone call or pop-up message on your computer. Do not provide your account information or access code, or give them control to your computer.
• Be wary of an unexpected request for payment for a good, service or fee through any form of communication (email, phone call, social media, etc.) Do your research and don’t be afraid to end communication with the person making the request.
• Don’t send money back to someone who has provided a check or overpayment for goods or services. 
• Be suspicious if someone requests your account information or assistance with a financial transaction, such as cashing a check on their behalf or transferring money for them.

Cyber threats are attempts to infiltrate or disrupt a computer network or system. Threats to your computer and mobile device can come in various forms. Cyber criminals use spoof emails, texts, websites, and pop-up ads with malicious links or attachments to convince you to unknowingly download malware to your computer or mobile device.

Cyber criminals may also attempt to prevent you from accessing your accounts by overloading a website with excessive traffic also known as denial of service attack.

What is at risk?

• Cyber criminals may use malware to track your internet activities, capture your personal and account information, and gain access to your financial accounts to steal your money or identity.
• Online banking may be temporarily unavailable due to an overload of site traffic.

How we help protect you

Wells Fargo is consistently enhancing our security measures and identifying new and emerging threats to help keep your accounts and information secure.

What you can do

• Use secure websites for payments and shopping, and only with merchants you trust.
• Keep security patches and anti-virus software up to date for your computer, internet browsers, and mobile devices.
• Don’t automatically download any attachments – be sure to turn off this setting on your mobile device.
• Don’t click on links, open attachments, or provide sensitive information through a suspicious email or text message, even if the sender appears to be a reputable company or someone you know.
• See more fraud prevention and cybersecurity tips.