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RatesWhat to Know About Impersonation Scams
Hear from Levo Credit Union®'s fraud specialist, Gabriel J., as he explains impersonation scams and what to do if you believe you are a victim of this scam.
Levo has caught several instances of impersonation scams over the past couple of years, saving members thousands of dollars from fraudsters. These scams occur at financial institutions across our region.
What is an Impersonation Scam?
An impersonation scam is when someone contacts you, claiming to be someone they are not, typically urging you to send funds. The fraudster can impersonate a variety of individuals, such as the police, the IRS, or a family member. Typically, the caller claims that immediate action is needed and often requests payment right away via PayPal or cryptocurrency. Regardless of what this scammer is trying to tell you, none of it is true.
With advancements in AI technology, scammers can generate documents such as arrest warrants or use deepfake technology to create images or videos of a family member in danger. These generated items can appear real with the goal of making you act quickly and transfer funds to help remedy the problem.
Tips For Preventing Impersonation Scams:
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Stop and think first. If you find yourself receiving an impersonation scam call, stop and take a minute to think. The fraudster's goal is to have you act on an impulse rather than take time to evaluate if this situation is real.
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Verify the number calling you. Scammers can spoof the number to make it look as though the person you trust is calling you. If you receive a call claiming to be someone you know or a trusted business requesting or pressuring you to send funds immediately, hang up or stop responding to emails or text messages. Call the person reaching out to you in a trusted way, such as the number listed on their website or from the contact in your phone.
What to Do If You Are Impacted By an Impersonation Scam?
If you believe you are a victim of an impersonation scam, stop communicating with the scammer. You should contact your financial institution and see what steps they recommend. They can assist you with securing your account. If you sent the scammer money, share with your financial institution what happened, the story the scammer told you, how you sent the funds, and the method they contacted you. Share as much information as you can with your financial institution so they can do their best to help you.
If you sent funds, you should also file a police report. You will want to share as much information as possible with them as well. Your financial institution may be able to assist or provide guidance on filing this report.
If you’re a Levo member and suspect you’ve recently been affected by fraud, contact our Service Center at 605-334-2471 or toll-free at 1-800-568-5711.
Learn More About Other Common Scams
Transcript:
(0:00) Impersonation scams it kind of covers a wide swath of scams, but they all boil down to roughly (0:06) the same thing. You will get a... Someone will get in contact with you, usually a (0:11) phone call, claiming that they are (0:13) someone that they're not. Sometimes (0:15) this will be a fraudster claiming to be the police with a warrant out for your (0:19) arrest, or the IRS claiming that you owe back taxes. (0:22) Sometimes it's someone claiming to be a family member, that they've been arrested, they (0:26) need help, or that they are in danger and (0:28) they need help. No matter how they (0:31) do it, the goal of this fraudster is to get (0:34) your trust, to make them b- to make you believe that they are someone that they're not, and then to (0:38) send funds (0:39) their way.
And this- one part that's really scary about this is with the advancements in (0:45) AI tech, it's getting easier and easier to do. Instead of just a random phone call, saying that they're, uh, (0:50) police with a warrant for your (0:52) arrest, they're going to be able to generate documents that (0:55) kind of show that, or they'll be able to use deep fake technology to show a picture or a video (0:59) of your family member in (1:01) trouble. Their goal is to make you act right now without thinking, to make- to send them (1:07) funds for whatever issue that they're giving (1:09) you.
But the issue (1:11) is, no matter what it is that they're telling (01:13) you, none (1:14) of it is true. There's likely not. a warrant out for your arrest. Your family members aren't gonna (1:19) be in danger. So the first thing you wanna do whenever you get a phone call, an email, text message (1:24) like that, you should hang up so then you're not being pressured to act (1:28) right now, especially if it's something like back taxes. The IRS is not going to call you and tell (1:34) you you have to pay them right now this instant via PayPal or via cryptocurrency. (1:38) That's not something that they (1:40) do, and it's the same with all the other instances. If it's a family member, or a supposed (1:45) family member that's in danger, call their phone number. (1:48) Even if it, looked like it was their (1:50) number calling you, fraudsters are able, able to spoof the number that's coming in to make it look like someone (1:55) else's. You should contact them in a way. that' you trust to see if (1:59) they' are in trouble. Likely, the case will be that they're not, that it was a fraudster lying to you (2:04) and just trying to play on your worries for those that you (2:07) care about.
Then, (2:09) if you instead found out that (2:12) if you acted on impulse and that you did actually send the money to the fraudster in whatever way (2:18) you did, first thing you should do is contact your financial institution, (2:22) tell them what happened, how you sent the funds, how they' contacted (2:26) you. Give them as much information as you can so they' can do their best to help you get(2:31) some or all of those funds back. The next thing you should do in this instance is you should file (2:36) a police report. (2:37) They're gonna want that. Your financial institution will also probably advise you to do that as well. (2:42) But again, you're gonna want to give the police department as much information as you can on the fraudster and (2:47) however you sent the funds and the whole story that they gave (2:50) you.
