Nearly Scammed out of all my Money!
This is off-topic but does relate to my bank account linked to my Amazon account.
I don’t know how new this scam is but it’s very sophisticated.
This afternoon I got an SMS from my bank saying:
Here is your OTP 823570. Use it to confirm 1959.99GBP to JFK AIRWAYS. If not you, Call our dedicated team on 03(Number removed MOD_Nickolas) REFERENCE: JQMW809
This came into the same inbox on my phone as all my other bank messages so I immediately thought that someone was trying to use my card but fortunately I have OTP set up so it needs confirmation so I wasn’t worried.
I rang the number for the fraud dept and got put through to security, they told me the transaction was attempted in Milton Keynes and asked if I was there, I wasn’t. They said they’d have to cancel my card which is normal. They also said they’d have to give me a new account number in case this had also been compromised.
I got a further text with my new account details, again from Tide (my bank,) and to the same inbox as I had got all my other Tide SMS messages since I opened the account.
I was asked to go to my banking app and make a payment to myself at my new account number. I typed my name in and the sort code and then got suspicious so Googled the number I had called and there was no reference. I told her I would have to call her back and she said she would give me a call from Tide’s main switchboard number, I received the call, Googled it and found it to be Tide’s number.
I carried on with the transfer and got to the point of pressing send when I just got suspicious again. I ended the call and then contacted Tide via their text support. It was a SCAM, but incredibly well-engineered. They spoofed a text SMS to fool my phone into thinking it was from my bank - in the screenshot below you will see that the top message is legit and the 2nd one is the fraud. Secondly they have set up a webpage with the number they were using so it looks like it is a Tide number. Thirdly they probably knew I was a Tide customer. Lastly they have got around the “Tide will NEVER call you asking you to move funds” by getting me to initiate the transfer i.e. I called them!
0 replies
Seller_lyUF34znaGncK
Having found someone else who this has happened to it turns out that they are an Amazon seller too.
Seller_bi8rGHHcLpoVs
I have a friend this happened to, she lost around 1K but the bank covered it. Not an Amazon seller though.
It is very easy to make a text appear to come from a different number.
Seller_aovSrGTvHBnnz
Thanks for sharing your experience. Only wish my mother-in law was that lucky. Anyway, let’s keep exposing these people.
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
What number did you call? Did you call the actual security department or did you call the number that was sent to you in the original text?
Banks don’t do that - your account number is not supposed to be private - that is how you get people to pay your bills.
If you call your bank, you should only do it via the published numbers of that bank, never to a number that they give you in an unverified communication.
Scary!
Seller_EHYOwAkoZV3Hb
Sadly, not new at all and in fact everything you listed was textbook.
Sorry you fell for it. It’s easily done if you’re busy but it had so many alarm bells from the very first message to the very last step. I am surprised how people still fall foul of these scammers, surely everyone has read about these scams or heard about them, seen bank adverts, used common sense etc.
Seller_L2WLWf8N814M4
Hello @Jay.Bee,
I`m happy to hear that you didn’t proceed with the transfer.
I had similar case, they asked to transfer my money to another account.
I told them to do that them self considering that are the bank and than he start to shout “Give me the money !”. I called the police to report but they told me that they cannot do anything.
Regards
Nickolas
Seller_AeSYBToQ271lM
I had the same but with HSBC. Phone call saying they had suspected fraud on my account and needed to check etc etc. I got suspicious and said I was going to put the phone down and call HSBC. Lady on the other end told me to look at the number on the back of my HSBC card and that she’d call me back from that number and it would show on my phone. I put the phone down (it disconnected) and she called and it did show the HSBC number on my phone… long story short it was a scam, she spoofed the number. I now get totally paranoid about anything to do with banks and fraud etc and double check everything.
Seller_LKjg1QRrO36Yq
This is why I try to use my mobile as little as possible for any form of transaction.
It is all to easy for scammers to fake these sort of messages.
Annoyingly it is almost impossible to avoid as most big companies and institutions insist on sending texts and require 2FA for all sorts of things.
I heard a senior police officer on the radio the other day saying that online fraud is massive but police devote only a tiny percentage of their time and resources to tackling it. Prosecutions are as rare as hen’s teeth.
No wonder there is so much of it about. 
Seller_DTufFoxJuMU0M
NEVER NEVER EVER! Call a number supplied in a text message or email.
A google search will always get you the correct number, even if you can’t get the number for the fraud squad any genuine number for your bank, or any of its branches (if applicable) will be able to give you the correct number or transfer you.
It is very very easy to spoof an email and a phone number to make it look like the mail/call is coming from a genuine number.
likewise if you ever get a call from a company who asks you to confirm your details… if they are genuine they will know if you give them the wrong information 
Seller_lyUF34znaGncK
Dedez, it’s ok saying never to ring a number in a text when it’s common practice for banks to alert you to potential fraud by sending a text with a number in it.
As per OP I didn’t fall for it but I could totally understand how a lot of people have.
