Hey y'all - just wanted to warn everyone of a fraud that I fell for today. I'm pretty security conscious and this one got me. Received a call from Wells Fargo today claiming they were with the fraud department and wanted to verify that I had written a large check. He started the call by sending a verification text that came in on a text number that had several former verification codes from Wells Fargo. I read the code back, and he confirmed the dollar amount of the check (he read it to me) and the check number. I verified that we did indeed authorize that. He said we were all set and hung up. There were no red flags - no broken English, caller ID said Wells Fargo as it is stored in my contacts (only reason I answered it) and he had the check number and dollar amount.
Flash forward an hour later and my Gmail is blowing up with spam for all these websites I have signed up for. Hundreds. Knowing that I did not do anything out of the ordinary, I immediately checked my financial sites. Guess what? There was a wire out of my checking account for the amount of $5,000.
Apparently they spoofed the 800 number, and the verification code was them initiating the wire (although it did not say that in the text). Ironic thing is that when I called to report the fraud, they sent the same verification message - so not sure where I could have learned my lesson here
Not sure how access to my account was gained - I use secure strong passwords and a unique password for every site on the internet. But figured I would post this warning - if it helps one person to not have to deal with this fiasco - it was worth my time typing it out.
Flash forward an hour later and my Gmail is blowing up with spam for all these websites I have signed up for. Hundreds. Knowing that I did not do anything out of the ordinary, I immediately checked my financial sites. Guess what? There was a wire out of my checking account for the amount of $5,000.
Apparently they spoofed the 800 number, and the verification code was them initiating the wire (although it did not say that in the text). Ironic thing is that when I called to report the fraud, they sent the same verification message - so not sure where I could have learned my lesson here
Not sure how access to my account was gained - I use secure strong passwords and a unique password for every site on the internet. But figured I would post this warning - if it helps one person to not have to deal with this fiasco - it was worth my time typing it out.