$100,000 Drained From Bank Accounts At Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Other Lenders in One US County, Say Police – Here’s How

Authorities just issued a new warning about a bank scam that’s hitting accounts across the US.

Police outside Washington, D.C. say customers at Wells Fargo, Bank of America, PNC and other US banks living have lost approximately $100,000 to bank impostor scams this year alone.

That’s in just one corner of the US – Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Thieves are impersonating major lenders, sending texts about suspicious account activity to trick victims into replying or calling a fake number, reports NBC4 Washington.

Victims are then instructed to withdraw money and deposit it into ATMs, or gift cards to “secure” their accounts.

Police advise people to call their bank directly using the number on their card, visiting a branch in person and hang up if anyone urges you to move money.

The FTC says such scams are on the rise, triggering $470 million in losses last year alone, commonly involving fake package deliveries, job offers and wrong number schemes.

That number is five times higher than what was reported in 2020, although the number of overall reports declined.

The FTC recommends forwarding suspicious texts to 7726 to report them.

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