Know your bank’s fraud protection measures. Wintrust Community Banks, for example, may send one-time passcodes or fraud alerts. We will never text to request account numbers or passwords, or to ask for wire transfers. Suspicious messages should be deleted immediately. Calls, texts, emails—scammers are constantly finding new ways to try and disorient people into unveiling compromising information. The widespread use of text scams sounds daunting, but there are some fairly simple steps to take to protect yourself from these ever-so-common ploys.
Watch out for these major smishing red flags.
If there’s a problem or a prize
It’s prevalent these days—the ‘your bank has been compromised!’ text. Ray Olsen, Wintrust’s Director of Enterprise Fraud, wants everyone to hear this message: If you get a text that looks like this, don’t answer—delete it.
“Is the bank going to text you that they have been compromised? No. The bank would notify you via a formal communication method—most likely a letter. Fraud teams aren’t going to advise you to withdraw money and make a gift card purchase,” says Olsen.
He explains that if you’re ever concerned by a text message you receive, the best thing to do is to visit your local branch or call the Customer Contact Center.
And the same goes for prizes. While we love our customers, we do not award monetary prizes. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
If there’s a specific way to pay
Think gift cards and money transfers, bitcoin ATMs… There should never be a reason you need to use a gift card to buy anything. If someone’s insisting you need to buy a gift card to pay them, something’s off. Gift cards are to celebrate someone you know not to pay overdraft fees or unlocking your account.
The same goes for money transfers. We will not text you to tell you to withdraw or transfer your money from your investment accounts.
If you’re being rushed
When the sense of urgency seems off, listen to your gut. Scammers intentionally try to rush (and fluster) you so that you act quickly and without thinking things through.
Wintrust will never contact you to put you in a high-pressure situation. Our goal is always to help customers, not hurry them.
If they’re asking for your account numbers or passwords
“Your bank knows your account number. We don’t need to ask you for it,” says Olsen. He continues to explain that when the bank reaches out to you, they have all of your information ready. If you call the bank, they will confirm your identity, but not with your account numbers and passwords.
If you’re ever unsure of who is on the other line, the best thing to do is hang up and call a known number for your bank directly. Scammers are playing to your emotions. If that means you accidentally hang up on your bank, we can assure you we don’t mind if you call us back directly.
The bottom line
What starts as something that looks like a fairly innocuous text can quickly turn into an attempt to get you to click a link, wire money, or get you on the phone to uncover compromising information.
Maybe you received a message and replied with a simple “yes” or “no,” and now the scammer thinks they have you hooked. That’s okay, you haven’t given away any of the confidential credentials they’re looking for. Stop the scam in its tracks by not responding.
If you receive a text that seems suspicious in any way, just delete it and call your branch or our Customer Contact Center. Never click on any hyperlinks in text messages, and if you do respond to a text and find yourself in a snowballing situation, the best thing to do is stop immediately.
Wintrust will only call if we see suspicious activity on your account. We will not ask you for your account number and password. And if you’re ever unsure for any reason who is on the other line, hang up and call your bank directly. If need be, they will put you back in touch with us to handle any fraudulent activity that may have occurred on your account. You can also contact us directly at 877-279-1300 if you think you’ve been a victim of fraud.
To stay up to date on cyber-crimes and phishing attacks, visit wintrust.com/security.
