Scammers bombard Americans with fake fraud alerts designed to steal login credentials and banking information. The texts typically claim your bank or credit card company detected suspicious activity and demand immediate action through a link.
Before you tap that link, stop. Verify the message independently by contacting your financial institution directly. Call the number on your actual card or statement, never the one in the text. Ask whether they sent the alert.
Real banks like Chase, Bank of America, and Capital One do send legitimate fraud alerts via text. The difference lies in urgency and requests. Legitimate alerts inform you of activity but rarely demand you click a link immediately. They won't ask you to verify passwords or full card numbers via text.
Here's what to do if you receive a suspicious fraud alert.
First, check your accounts directly. Log into your bank's app or website using your bookmarks or manually typed URL, not links from texts. Review recent transactions for unfamiliar charges.
Second, don't respond to the text message or click embedded links. Scammers use these interactions to confirm active phone numbers and gather more personal details.
Third, forward the suspicious message to your bank's fraud department. Most institutions accept reports at specific email addresses listed on their official websites. Chase customers can forward phishing attempts to "phishing@chase.com." Bank of America customers should report to "fraud.us@bankofamerica.com."
Fourth, report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. This helps authorities track patterns and patterns and issue warnings.
If you accidentally clicked a malicious link, change your banking passwords immediately using a secure device. Monitor your credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, the official free source for Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports. Consider placing a fraud alert with the credit bureaus to add an extra verification