It’s never been easier to send money with people you know and trust. No matter where you are, your time zone, or what you’re paying for, you can pay for something or pay someone back.
Venmo feels like the most-popular instant pay app, but Zelle may have already overtaken the popular instant transfer app. All of those, including PayPal and CashApp, are used to send and receive money with friends and family members. And whenever there’s money involved, there will always be those that want to steal that money.
Bank of America Zelle Scam
There are several different Zelle scams happening right now. The one we’ll talk about today is the one associated with Bank of America where a text message purported to come from Bank of America requesting you send money using Zelle®to anyone, including yourself. If you get this type of message, it’s a huge red flag.
Watch this educational video from Bank of America to spot a zelle scam.
While Bank of America may send you a text to validate unusual activity, we will never contact you t or to share a code to resolve fraud. If you receive a request like this, it is likely a scammer trying to trick you.
A couple examples of the BOA fraud text message:
BoaFreeMsg: Bank of America Fraud: Did you attempt Zelle transaction $1000.00? Reply YES or NO. Case 9156203 To Opt Out reply STOP
Free Msg- Bank of America Fraud Alert- Did You Attempt A Zelle Transaction For The Amount of $1500? Reply YES or NO or 1 To Decline Fraud Alerts
Here are the details of the “pay yourself” scam
- You receive a text message that looks like a fraud alert from your bank about unusual activity. The text may look something like “Did you make a purchase of $100.00 at ABC merchant?”.
- If you respond to the text, you have now engaged the scammer and will receive a call from a number that appears to be from a bank.
- They’ll appear to be a representative from a bank and will offer to help stop the alleged fraud by asking you to send money to yourself with Zelle.
- The scammer will ask you for a one-time code you just received from a bank.
- If you give them the code, they will use it to enroll their bank account with Zelle using your email or phone number.
- The scammer now has the ability to receive your money into their account.
What you can do to help stay protected
- Don’t trust caller ID — it’s not always who it says it is.
- Don’t share codes based on a call you receive.
- Don’t be pressured to act immediately.
Visit Bank of America’s Security Center
- Red flags for common scams
- Details about trending scams
- Ways to avoid being scammed
