A caller from your bank's fraud team, the police or a government office says your money is at risk, and you must move it, take it out in cash, buy gold or crypto, or hand your card to a courier. No real one ever asks. What to do.
The caller says
“This is your bank's fraud department. Your account has been hacked. To protect your savings, move them today to the safe account we've opened for you.”
On this page
The caller says
“This is your bank's fraud department. Your account has been hacked. To protect your savings, move them today to the safe account we've opened for you.”
The caller says
“This is the Federal Trade Commission. Your Social Security number has been used in a crime, and your accounts will be frozen. Take out your savings in cash and deposit them at a Bitcoin machine, and we'll keep them safe.”
The caller says
“Your card has been copied. Put it in an envelope with your PIN. Our courier will collect it within the hour.”
Examples. The names and amounts change; the shape doesn't.
Your money is “at risk”, and the fix is to move it: to a “safe” account, into cash, gold or crypto, or into someone else's hands. No bank, police force or government office ever asks.
One caller passes you to the next: a shop to your bank, your bank to “the police” or a government agent. Each one makes the last seem real.
Stay on the line, and tell no one. They ask you not to hang up, and to give your bank's staff a made-up reason for the withdrawal.
A courier or a crypto machine. Someone comes to your door for your card, cash or gold, or you're told to feed cash into a Bitcoin machine.
The number on your screen looks right. Caller ID can show your bank's or an agency's real number (see How scams pretend).
Never move, withdraw or hand over money because a caller says it's at risk. Whoever they say they are.
Hang up, and call your bank on the number on your card yourself. If it says it's the police or a government office, look up that office's number yourself.
Tell someone you trust before you do anything. Scammers ask you to keep it secret because a second person stops it.
Still not sure? Check the message (the text or email that started it). We open its link on a phone and a computer, not yours, and tell you what it is.
Report it. If you moved money, tell your bank first, then your police or your country's fraud reporting service.
In the US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov (the FTC's website, opens in a new tab)
Each caller backs up the last, and the fear is for your savings, so it feels like you're saving them. The request to keep it from your own bank is the part that gives it away.