Here’s a scenario that just happened to one of our customers (read carefully so you don’t fall for this scam):
Someone called on the phone claiming that they had accidentally deposited $6,000 in our customer’s bank account. They suggested they log into their bank and they would see the pending deposit of $6,000. When our customer said they don’t know how to log into their bank on the computer, the person on the phone suggested they let him onto their computer and he would show them.
Our customer let them on and the man got into our customer’s bank account (or he made it look that way – our customer isn’t sure) and sure enough, a pending deposit of $6,000 was showing. The man explained that there wasn’t any way he could stop the deposit but it was a mistake and our customer would have to repay the money. He suggested that the best way would be for our customer to go to the nearest Apple Store and get three gift cards, each for $2,000. Then, they could simply give him the gift card numbers and then keep the $6,000 when the deposit went through.
Our customer actually went to the Apple Store and kudos to the Apple Store employee. When he heard the story, he suggested to our customer that it sounded like a scam and the gift cards should not be purchased. He also suggested that our customer notify their bank as soon as possible. This employee saved our customer from being scammed out of $6,000. There is no question that the pending deposit of $6,000 would never have gone through.
Here are the lessons to be learned from our customer’s experience:
- Never let a stranger onto your computer. I’d go as far as to say never let anyone on your computer except us or at least without checking with us first. (Remember, almost all major companies – when you call their support phone numbers – use outside companies for first level support. These companies often try to unnecessarily sell you their services.)
- Anyone who asks to be paid via gift cards is almost for sure a scammer. Legitimate organizations don’t asked to be paid via gift cards.
- Change your bank passwords from time to time and make sure they are secure, strong passwords.