Scams targeting Zelle app users are rising and criminals are getting more creative. Here are three expert tips to avoid losing thousands of dollars. FULL STORY: abc7.ws/3HaX0um
Another absolutely imperative must know tip: If anyone ever sends a text, e-mail, phone message or phone call that says something is wrong with your account and gives a website, link or number to call NEVER EVER DO IT! Instead, go to the back of your credit card and call that number, or call the bank directly. That way you know who you've called and are talking to. If the initial contact was legit, then no harm done, but if it wasn't (most likely) then you've avoided losing your money. ALWAYS ALWAYS initiate contact with the bank separately and you should be OK.
#1 & #2? You'll never need to panic and hang up if you never answered the phone in the first place. If it is real and the message is important, they WILL LEAVE A MESSAGE. Then you can listen to the VM, compose yourself and call the number on the back of you bank card. Calling a bank back after 1 minute if it is legit will NOT change the outcome of whatever situation it is. Never heard of a situation where the bank said because you didn't pick up the phone the very moment we called you but returned a call 2 minutes later, your money is all gone.
Never do banking transactions over the phone. If someone calls you tell them that you’ll go to the bank and you don’t have time to talk over the phone. I never talk about my finances over the phone with anyone.
Another scam out is when you order online. You’ll receive a text alert from “usps” (and it look just like the website) saying your package address need to be updated and you have to pay $1 for the update. Once the payment info is submitted the next screen is blank. Now whomever has your debit or credit card info and your address. So immediately they can use your card.
The real problem is that the banks will not step in to help. All Zelle money goes into SOME BANK SOMEWHERE. All they need to do is create a mandate that any scam money MUST be returned from the bank if it is a scam.
They almost got me. I tried calling the bank, no one answers they are shorthanded these days. The scammers were very nice in the beginning but as soon as i began to doubt them they started threatening if I didn't do what they said, they were going to take all my money. I immediately started closing them out and they tried to block me from being successful, but I kept closing their page and logged out before they could succeed. I had to go to bank and close my 30 year account and open a whole new one. But Thank God I was safe.
Don’t assume your save. Have you changed your router password? If they know your name they probs know your internet provider. So look up how to change router password on RU-vid if you haven’t done that.
This is where the F.B.I or other government law enforcement agencies including the government itself, should be involved. If these agencies and the government can get involved in foreign affairs and pull out all stops, why can’t they do the same for the citizens of this country.
@@rayrayshebly8666 You should try contacting the FDIC this agency covers depositors accounts at each insured bank up to $250,000.00. They are quick and efficient and you can file a complaint online.
My mom is 88 yrs old and got scammed. They wiped her account clean. This is devistating to someone her age who is on a very limited income. They don't understand technology and/or have a hard time believing someone could do this. We have tried to explain it to her but they make it sound so real ( her words). Hopefully she learned.
I am so sorry this has happened unfortunately they target the elderly on purpose because it's easier to scam them. Best bet is to teach the elderly but they often forget the rules. I had to take over my grandma's account to prevent this and just added her so she could use the account but any calls or main transactions go thru me!
Don't answer the phone. Period. If it's that important you'll receive a letter. Or a visit from the police. If the message or ID says "Bank" call them. You'll know if they tried to reach you.
If using Chrome, in the menu click “show original “ and it will show who sent the email. Often PayPal is spelled with an “I” (serif don’t to look like an”L” and the original email will appear in the html brackets. It will display who sent email, even if it says PayPal or Amazon in the from line
Lesson number one, if someone calls you claiming to be your bank, IRS, or anything, get as much information as possible from them, then tell them you will call back and contact the real bank or IRS and check to see if what the caller was saying was correct, if not then turn over all the information you got the toe authorities.
Lesson number one. Hang up the phone. Don’t talk to them. Call your bank or the IRS and let them know that these people called you. When you receive those kind of text messages type in STOP. They are Phishing texts just like the emails!Don’t type anything else and do not answer the phone if it rings immediately after you send the stop message.
Yep. There’s going to a lot more fraud since President Biden has hired 100k IRS agents not to mention giving Putin the green light to do cyber attacks on US soil. Apparently more And more people aren’t paying there fair share
People really need training in these type of scams as this is no different from fishing emails. My Company has training videos every year covering various fishing scams.
People also need to activate their bank apps so that everytime there is a transaction, you get an alert. Another thing that helps is not keeping so many accounts. I closed all my credit cards and am only using one for everything. I note on my budget everything i know will be getting charged to that card that month. And if someone does call "from your bank" ask what's it about and hang up and call the banks customer service number and make an inquiry.
Actually, do the opposite: have ONE card with a low charge amount for Amazon, and only use that CC for online charges. Keep it totally unrelated to any bank account. That's for starters.
I use zelle all the time absolutely no problem but I can spot a scammer coming a mile away don't make no difference how good they are I love messing with scammers I live for it
Blames zelle. Proceeds to explain what essentially amounts to bank security breach. Someone at the banks is selling personal contact information to foreign organized scammers.
Zelle is not well implemented by all banks. Most banks have horrendous software support for zelle. Citibank is one of the worst offender. It's Web interface and phone app look like written by monkeys paid with peanuts.
Zelle is supporting scammers. In my industry we recently encountered three completely false scam websites, posing as the real manufacturer. The only accepted payment methods were Zelle and Bitcoin. We have learned that if an online vendor does not take MC Visa You should not purchase.
The OTHER problem with Zelle: Prior to Zelle, if someone gained online access to your accounts, they could only immediately send money to external linked accounts that YOU OWN. To send money to themselves, they would have to somehow create a new external account AS YOU, and then create an external link to that account, which takes 2-3 days, and then ACH your money to that account, which takes another 2-3 days. Those 4-6 days gave you TIME to detect and block the process by contacting your bank BEFORE any money is moved. Zelle completely removes that safeguard because the Zelle allows the impostor to IMMEDIATELY send money to ANYONE. The only safeguard that Zelle provides is a daily limit set by the bank (currently usually $3,500 or less, but banks keep raising this amount). My advice: Keep most of your money in a bank that doesn't offer Zelle (or any similar system), and only keep money that you are willing to lose in your bank that offers Zelle (or any similar system).
This is why I stay old school. Cash or CC. At least the CCs reimburse you every time there is fraud, even PayPal is better than all those trashy pay apps.
So true. I've done retail jobs and the one thing they told cashier's is if someone is buying a lot of gift cards with large amounts of money on them to was to ask the customer why they are getting them or to alert a manager because it could be a scam payment.
My credit union gives me the opportunity to use Zelle, but there are enough other alternatives I can use. Don't answer phone calls with unknown numbers, don't open emails that look sketchy, know the credit union would never send requests by email. At least check in with your credit union/back before you agree to, or follow through with any transaction involving your money. I get emails telling me I owe the balance on large TV's, etc., regularly. Another one was addressed from the state dept of Unemployment telling me they'd deposited $8,900 in my account 😳. Haven't applied for unemployment in 25 years, and I know the state's not so generous as to give out random gifts. No idea what the point was, because I wouldn't open the email. There are thousands of scams online, because all it takes is to keep contacting random people until somebody bites, and a profit is theirs.
I never answer the phone. If it's that important they'll mail a letter. Why? Because legally that's notice. Signed. Sealed. Delivered. No guarantee they can reach you. Don't answer the phone unless your expecting & the number is familiar.
Also never use zelle to pay for anything. Zelle's terms-of-service tell you that you have to take a dispute up directly with the seller. So don't think you're buying that puppy or paying for rent using zelle. After you pay the seller blocks you. You'll lose the dispute with your bank. The bank will tell you to take it up directly with whoever you sent the money to according to Zelle's terms of service. It doesn't have the protections like using a credit card. Apple pay and cash app or just as bad.
PayPal offers protection when paying for goods and services they will even refund you the money if the seller doesn't reply to them I know cause I have had to file a claim and also used to be an eBay power seller so I have been on both ends of the exchange before.
@@vapeking466 Depends on how you send the money with paypal. I once tried to buy something from another auction site that wasn't ebay and it said they accepted paypal. I paid and they refunded be back right away and wanted me to send the money to them as being a friend or family member so they wouldn't pay any paypal fees. The issue with doing that is if you do that and they scam you. you can't dispute it to get your money back. I am sure it was a scam and I knew better then to send it as friend or family member.
Zelle is perfectly fine to use if you know exactly who you are sending money to and you verify their phone number ahead of the transaction. Just don’t send money to people who aren’t in your contact list or to questionable strangers IMO. Due diligence is a prerequisite. Stay safe out there and don’t become a victim.
@@peeudo it could be a burner phone. Or an online phone number repaid with gift cards. You better personally know them if you are sending it thru zelle
@@peeudo supposedly these people were sending it to themselves. It just sounds so wrong. Why did they need to delete their phone number from the zelle account? How could they still send money with zelle and no phone number? How are phone numbers still being spoofed after the new law went into effect last year 2021 they required phone companies to make sure the phone number matched caller id? Why isn't the anti terrorism and fbi aml depts investigating with subpoenas to track down the perps? It's like no one is doing their job or as if this news is old and from before the antirobocall law.
yeah got scam from zelle and called the bank they can retrace the scammer but they said they don't want to involve. in other words, there are supporting scammers
NEVER talk on the phone with anyone about a bank account. ALWAYS go into the office talk face to face with the teller. They have you on camera doing it. It's the only safe way to handle banking.
At the end of the day we are responsable for our own assets. Each of these people made a mistake at some point and compormised themselvs. The moral of this story is to understand what these money transfer apps can do and use them accordingly, and to never be complacent with our account security.
I’ve always been passionate about cyber security. I became complacent with securing my accounts, and now I have paid for it. If there is a way in, they will find it. Review your account security annually and overhaul passwords. Always use 2FA
That is not fair. We all live somewhere, possibly have a car, have bank accounts.....that does not give ANYONE the right to steal our property, nor does it prove some fault on our part that we didn't lock it up enough! No one should be stealing our assets....the police and the banks need to PREVENT crime (aka be there to see it AS IT HAPPENS and prevent it) ....not just respond to it!
Even though it is not the only issue, it is a first line of defense. People need to make sure they secure their Bank accounts adequately by having cryptic, strong password along with 2FA. And to try and use different ones across your accounts. Far too often people use the same simple, weak, easily guessable passwords across every online account they own.
And that takes from 3 days to more than a week sometimes. No legit technical reason to have to be subject to potential unregulated fraud just to get your own money where you want it fast. They even charge extra to send ach overnight fast which proves it can be done.
I have Zelle through my bank also. Almost all banks have Zelle. Again what is the point of a Zelle app, does it come with a Zelle debit card or something.
until......................................................................................................................................................................... the bank forces u to
How r u going to blame zelle..the ppl need to be accountable for themselves sometimes.. how is it not their fault as well. So you know McDonalds sells food not good for you but eat it anyway then blame McDonalds and the person who bought you the food? You are a fool. It's your fault.. eat better
But its not Zelle being breached… scammers been pretending to be from the IRS, Amazon and Microsoft. Zelle being their most latest disguise. Its nothing new.
Valerie, well youre right you have a point as well. But I still think the companies themselves deserve some of the blame when things go wrong. Simply because they have the responsibility of making the best product they can. There are countless stories out there of those that dont, just to cut corners/save costs.
I think these banks could make these apps totally safe if they wanted. Just like CC companies could make it where you have to prove who you are before accepting a fraudulent application.
the problem is people sendinging there money no one steal it they click pay so all this controversy about banks and zelle the person who give the scammers there online info or send them money, then blame the bank or zelle smh.
Why is zelle allowed to get away with funding terrorist fraudsters this way? Is the real question. They know the account number who got the funds and charges should be filed. Police dept and fbi just doing nothing?!
DONT SPEND MONEY. If money’s worth anything anymore, then stick with cash. Businesses who aren’t interested in cash are saying they don’t believe cash is worth anything. What’s Zelle anyways?
If we just stop and think for a moment like that lady said. It all ends there. Just STOP and think "Does this even make sense ". Then contact the bank "yourself"......
If someone with an Indian accent calls you from your bank, hang up and call your bank. Amazon called me to ask if I spent a ridiculous amount of money on something dumb, I hung up called Amazon back and there were no charges on my account. Take your time, question everything, these scammers will stay on the phone with you for hours if they need to. Lastly, never ever give out personal information over the phone, text, or email to anyone who reaches out to you 1st without verifying it first.
Every online banking app have Zelle and wire transfer they made that for people to send money to friend and family and other hand they can steal people money too , i have hear bank employees stealing people money before they are the only people know too much about your information.
Thats why I don’t bank on Bank of America it is the bank ridden with most scams, remember EDD unauthorized withdrawals. BoA is the most unethical and unsafe bank in America
That's dumb! I use WF and they were riddled with fraudulent charges, and accounts. No bank is free of all this. You have to be vigilant and constantly check for unknown/unauthorized activity no matter which bank or credit union you use. You can't trust them to look out for you.
@@spocksvulcanbrain if all of them are evil and you have no choice I choose the lesser evil. BoA is the most evil of them all. I am on USBank the least evil of them all.
@@edgar-mmxxiii TD bank in on public record as having an "issue" with auto-withdrawals and I got just short of 500. grabbed out of my 45 year old account on an Amazon debit . That account is totally unrelated to Amazon. The bank re-embursed after two months but never "closed" the fraud or ADMITTED that it HAD to be an internal bank issue, ON THE BANK, not me. The 'investigation" is still open, so technically the bank could reach in and "grab" the money back if they wanted to. In 45 years I've never had a bounced check or issue with the bank. THEY were the problem.
Don't bank with golden horizon credit union 🙄 those idiots withdrew 1k from my account for a check I didn't write and their excuse was it was a typo when typing in the account number 🙄. I closed my account right after.
How is that not self explanatory to use actual money, instead of buying random gift cards then send the gift card codes, you have to be a complete moron to do those round about actions just to pay someone
I was selling an item on Craigslist and a potential buyer sent me a very real looking cashier's check for the item and for its trucking. Then said the trucking firm wouldn't come unless I Zell'ed them the shipping money. When they insisted, I said I'd wait for the check to clear. It didn't.
That's why if anyone sends you a check call the bank FIRST to verify it to make sure it's real or else if you cashed it you'd be liable to repay it. I question everything nowadays 😂 can't be too careful
Just so you know, ppl can find your name and DOB from social media. It's not that hard. Ppl post a lot of things. Just like posting bday pics will tell ppl when your bday is and then all the have to do is get the year by back tracking your age which can be listed on other things like a resume or what not. Plus, ppl can kinda determine if you're someone who is worth the scam by what you post. I see some pics of ppl, and I'm like you look like you have $$ to burn so that will def make scammers come after you. It's also why I keeps my social ghetto AF. 😅 And FYI, your account number is on your check. This is why I don't use written check if I can help it.
I’m don’t see how this is still going on. The activity these scammers were asking them to do seems odd anyway. Why would a bank ask you to send money to yourself? The place holds and stop transactions.
As weird as it sounds.....the REAL rules for some of these businesses sometimes seem just as bizarre! (Cashiers saying they can't refund X until they do Y and then transfer it to Z, or restaurants saying you can't order a hamburger that way, but they can bill you for this other thing and "add" whatever to make the sandwich you want) People constantly have to come up with tricks to do what they need on computers....I have watched so many transactions done in such odd ways.....just to get the math to work. I think we are all fed up with HOW they credit us, just that they DO credit us. These thieves are just taking advantage of our trusting nature.....which is horrible, because one day all the trust in the world will be wiped out....i don't want to see that world.
Actually if there is a problem with your account, payment from it or? The " Bank demands U show up in person to fix not the problem or discuss it!! They do nothing on the phone!! Only in person visits!!
Zelle is direct bank to bank transfer and has been around for some time. The only zelle transfer/payment that sent and received are to people that I actually know. Other than that....no one should be zelle any bank or anyone for that matter if they don't know them. Zelle itself made it clear only receive or send to people you actually know.
So, you don’t call your bank to check out the request and just comply? Lord have mercy.. 🤦🏾♀️ I just cant feel but so bad for people who have no semblance of common sense.. I don’t utilizes any of those financial apps. I’m also not naïve so, I’m not just going to do any transfers or transactions from a phone call or text. But that’s me…
Thank you, I got one of the refunds scams. Thankfully I found this video before trying anything. I tried contacting zelle if this was legit or not but they make it impossible to contact them.
They should shutdown all these money transfers . USE your bank in person. Not one of these money transfers are secure even if they say they are. Your even taking a risk with online banking if man can make it man can break it.
I was in a restaurant and texted a friend asking what was the amount I owed her and that I would send it later through Zelle when I got home. I got an alert from Siri when I opened my phone at home to send the money telling that my friend's had changed and this was the new number to use ... it had changed by one number! Didn't send the money thru Zelle after that!
Anyone loading all their private info, credit cards and bank info in their phone is just asking for it. ANY device where apps / software that can be loaded and is connected online can and will be hacked (common sense). I've never had issues using zelle...
It is wondered if one of the benefits of the IRS having more oversight of these payment apps is so that the fbi can investigate crimes like this. If that is the case more power to them. Now these crimes can potentially be classified as bank fraud.
I asked my bank to unlink my checking account from ZELLE and they locked me out from access to the account until I signed and acknowledged that they are not responsible even if I did not authorize the transaction. I was having a retirement directly deposited there but terminated it as it is too much of a chance to take.
Well,I am an old tech woman in a too high tech world. Use my credit union directly and they do alert me by a private email when the security division suspects illegally activity.
She gave them all the information the last time they called her. Giftcards? Doesn't everyone know that's a scam by now? i had a super legitimate sounding call a while ago - hang up and call your bank. (Not the number the scame gives you) - the bank didn't care by the way
I'm still INCREDULOUS that people on FB buying HAY, or other agri. products are always getting "rug pulled" and scammed. Basically, acting like the CONSUMERS they are.
STOP USING BANKS!!! USE CREDIT UNIONS!!!!! When using a cash app when sending money, link your debit card after you are done, DELETE IT!! I DON'T LEAVE MY DEBIT CARD ON A CASH APP!
How do the scammers get the bank account number that’s what I want to know. People are walking around with their bank account number inside the iPhone I keep my banking account number inside my brains not in my iPhone
@@MattGarcyaDC maybe not for the first few transactions but after proving the user is a scammer then every future transaction attempted should be blocked.
@@ttttt316 well that implicates them in the court of public opinion and the more they do it the less anyone will care if they get robbed (as long as the robbers don't hurt anyone).
Thanks so much for exposing scammers... They are a plague to this world and what you are doing is admirable and amazing! *ExelaSupport* I'm your big fan.
First, the Con Edison has failed to prove that Butler’s non-criminal consumption of a legal substance rose to the level of abuse or that Butler’s consumption of alcohol adversely affected his job performance or the public’s trust (whatever that is). Moreover, the only consequence of off-duty chemical substance abuse is that the employee will be sent for a JFE. Here, Butler was sent for a JFE on December 16, 2014 tested negative for drugs and alcohol. On December 13, 2014, Butler was purported observed by Officer Brito moving from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat a couple of hundred yards from the DWI checkpoint. Officer Brito did not testify that Butler was driving erratically or displayed other indicia of someone that was driving while impaired. The Union concedes that Officer Brito’s assumption that Butler’s actions were to avoid being identified as either a driver who had been drinking or a driver who might not have had a valid license is reasonable. It is also reasonable for Officer Brito to assume that if he could see Butler then Butler could see him. That assumption is not reasonable. Officer Brito also demonstrated his expertise and training in many facets of alcohol and drug testing but the only verified test result was the breathalyzer results. This is important because clearly Brito had an animus against Butler. Brito testified that Butler was quietly being difficult and when Brito was asked why he issued Butler a summons for refusing to test AFTER he submitted to a breathalyzer test Brito testified that Butler was walking out of the police station with a summons regardless. Butler was issued a summons that was so patently meritless that the Westchester District Attorney’s office did not even submit opposition to Butler’s motion to dismiss. (Union Exhibit “2“) The Union submits that Brito’s testimony is troubling. A police officer charged with upholding the law and who described himself as an expert in the observation of behavior under the influence of drugs and alcohol and who is also charged with knowledge of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law issued a summons that (based on his expertise) he had to know was invalid Brito practically admitted that since Butler gave him a hard time and wasted his time that night (because he did not engage in criminal conduct), he was going to give Butler a hard time. That hard time translated into the issuance of an invalid summons that forced Butler to retain counsel and utterly wasted the time of the Court that dismissed the summons that the Westchester County determined unworthy of opposition.
@@MDAZAD-wk3xj it is an easy crime to stop but the fbi just doesn't want to do it's job. Zelle knows the bank account number who scammed people but no one is investigating besides just reporters. So they get away scot-free.