What are the red flags of this scam?

Your bank will never call you and ask you to read back a one-time passcode you received • Caller ID showing your bank's official number does not mean the caller is your bank — spoofing is trivial • Scammer may know your real account balance, recent transactions, or last four digits of your card • You are asked to 'move money to a secure account' — no legitimate bank does this • Call creates urgency: 'we need to act now or the money is gone'

What should I do if this happened to me?

Hang up if anyone asks you to read back a one-time code sent to your phone • Never transfer money to a 'secure account' at the caller's direction — your bank will never ask this • Call your bank back using the official number on the back of your card or your bank's verified app • If money was moved, call your bank's fraud line immediately to request a recall or hold — time is critical • Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

CRITICAL banking Share

Your bank's fraud department calls about suspicious charges — then drains your account

A spoofed call from your bank's fraud department claims suspicious charges are on your account. The caller knows your real account details, then asks for a one-time code to "verify" you—which they use to log in and drain your accounts.

Also known as: bank spoofing scam, fake fraud department call, account takeover bank call, OTP interception scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Hang up if anyone asks you to read back a one-time code sent to your phone
2 Never transfer money to a 'secure account' at the caller's direction — your bank will never ask this
3 Call your bank back using the official number on the back of your card or your bank's verified app
4 If money was moved, call your bank's fraud line immediately to request a recall or hold — time is critical
5 Report to the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov.

Red flags

⚠ Your bank will never call you and ask you to read back a one-time passcode you received
⚠ Caller ID showing your bank's official number does not mean the caller is your bank — spoofing is trivial
⚠ Scammer may know your real account balance, recent transactions, or last four digits of your card
⚠ You are asked to 'move money to a secure account' — no legitimate bank does this
⚠ Call creates urgency: 'we need to act now or the money is gone'

Known variants

Using the same bank-impersonation call, scammer asks you to read back an OTP that they use to enroll your debit or credit card on their own Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay device. Fraud then appears as in-store contactless purchases, not a wire transfer. Lithic and AARP July 2026 advisory.

Last seen: 7/26/2026
Scammers switch a bank-fraud call to FaceTime, claiming video 'verification' is required, then ask the victim to screen-share while logging into online banking — capturing OTPs, account numbers, and passwords in real time. Apple, Malwarebytes, and CBS News reported a surge in FaceTime bank-screen-share incidents in July 2026.

Last seen: 7/27/2026
Caller impersonates a brokerage (Robinhood, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade) fraud department, claiming someone is actively hacking the victim's investment account right now. Victim is pressured to liquidate holdings and wire proceeds to a scammer-controlled 'safe account.' EverSafe Scam Watch July 2026.

Last seen: 7/27/2026

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Known variants

Sources