The phone call usually starts with a text. A message claims a purchase was flagged, the customer replies that it was not theirs, and the phone rings almost at once, according to Paul Benda of the American Bankers Association, who described the routine to WFSB in October 2026.
Benda, the association’s executive vice president for risk, fraud and cybersecurity, says the caller then plays the role of a bank fraud department. Eight requests give that caller away, because a genuine bank does not make them on a phone call.
How the Fake Fraud Department Gets Started
AARP, in a March 2025 report on bank impersonation scams, says criminals pose as a bank’s security or fraud department by text, email or phone, and that the numbers shown can be spoofed. A familiar-looking caller ID, in other words, proves nothing.
The same playbook turns up elsewhere, as a warning about fake badges and real employee names shows, and a note from Bank of America that customers should not share a banking password with an AI agent rests on a similar idea. A short read on firm boundaries that others mistake for rudeness is a reminder that ending a call is not impolite.
Scammers who stay silent on the line have their own tricks, covered in why scammers remain silent on calls, while small rituals that quietly disappeared are a reminder that checking twice never goes out of style. A guide to travel blunders that turn a vacation into a stress fest shows how quickly hurry leads to mistakes.
Codes, Passwords and Account Access
1. Reading out a one-time passcode. The ABA says, as reported by WFSB, that banks never ask for the one-time passcode used to log in online.
2. Handing over login credentials, a PIN or access codes. AARP says banks will not ask for these, and that scammers go after PINs, debit card details and passwords.
3. Granting remote access or screen sharing. According to Chase, as relayed in a January 2023 Dallas Morning News guide, bank employees will not ask customers to screen share a phone or computer, and banks will not ask for remote login access to a computer. A roundup of boomer habits making a comeback shows how some old-fashioned caution deserves a revival, and the scripts behind these calls echo the stories scammers tell to get gift card numbers.
Money Moves a Bank Never Requests
4. Moving funds to a “safe” account. Benda says a caller may claim the account needs protecting and the money must go somewhere else. The ABA says, as reported by WFSB, that banks never ask for money to be moved to a different account. AARP lists the same request among the most common.
5. Sending money or buying gift cards or crypto for a bank agent. Chase, as relayed by the Dallas Morning News, says bank employees will not ask customers to send money, buy gift cards or buy cryptocurrency for them, or to transfer money into crypto.
6. Confirming, sending or reversing a payment during the call. AARP says scammers ask people to verify recent account activity, or to send or reverse a payment while the caller waits.
Pressure and Secrecy
7. Acting right now. Benda said banks do not use urgency or fear, a point AARP echoes by noting that criminals often create a sense of urgency. A caller who sets a countdown has already failed the test.
8. Keeping it quiet or staying on the line. AARP lists requests for secrecy, threats of arrest and instructions not to hang up as red flags. Ending the call to check is the simple answer to both.
The Safer Move
Calling the bank back on a number already known to be real is the advice running through every source above. AARP says to call the bank at the number on a statement or its official website, and Benda advises using the number on the back of the debit card.
The Federal Trade Commission, in a May 2025 consumer post, says never to transfer or send money to anyone in response to an unexpected call or message, no matter who they claim to be. It adds that anyone who has already moved money or shared a verification code should tell the bank right away and then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
AARP also lists reportfraud.ftc.gov, the FBI’s IC3.gov and its own Fraud Watch Network helpline at 877-908-3360 for victims.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Ehimetalor Unuabona becomeincognito – CC0/Wikimedia Commons
