Common Social Media Scams

  1. Online Loan Scams
    Someone may contact you via social media claiming to be an employee of your financial institution. The scammer will do this in hopes of gaining your trust, advising they will be able to assist with lower interest rates or able to offer a larger loan amount. What the scammer is doing is phishing for your personal information in order to commit identity theft. Scammers might say you qualify for a loan and insist they will deposit funds into your account by asking for your Internet Banking credentials. Once the deposit appears to have cleared your account, the scammer will request return of payment quickly, often in the form of gift cards, bitcoin or Person-to-Person transfer. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

  2. Romance Scams
    Have you ever received a friend request on social media and was unsure who that person was? Sometimes, scammers will create fake accounts on social media as well as dating sites with the intent of creating relationships with legitimate users. The relationship continues with promises of a long-term relationship and sometimes even marriage. Over time, the online relationship progresses and the scammer will begin turning conversations to financial troubles or asking for financial favors. Be alert about who you meet online and be wary of sending money to strangers.

  3. Credit Repair Scams
    Credit repair companies often offer ways to boost or fix your credit. Be wary of companies that promise to rid your credit report of negative credit or say they will be able to increase or boost your credit score. Scammers will say they can boost or repair your credit with a short-term loan, often requesting your Internet Banking Credentials to deposit the funds. It may sound appealing, but it’s a scam. Unfortunately, no company can guarantee this.

    The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) advises you to be aware of:
    • insisting you pay them before they do any work for you
    • tells you not to contact the credit reporting companies directly
    • tells you to give false information on your applications for credit or a loan
    • asks for personal account information
    • if they insist you pay them with gift cards such as google, steam, ebay, etc.

  4. Card Popping Scams
    This is where scammers use social media like Instagram®, Snapchat® and Facebook® to contact potential victims in direct messages or via text messages about money-making opportunities. “Card Popping” is rapidly on the rise. The scammer advises this is a legitimate way of making hundreds to thousands of dollars quickly. Some scammers have even posed as affiliates or employees of your financial institution.
    How does Card Popping work? Scammers will offer victims payment in the form of checks, often stolen items, that will be deposited via the victim’s bank accounts. The scammer will request the victim to turn over their debit card and PIN to deposit the checks on the victim’s behalf. Often the scammers will get away with hundreds of dollars, leaving the victim to be responsible for potential losses.

    Here are some items to be aware of:
    • If you are asked to give out account numbers, PINs, debit card, Social Security number or any other personal information.
    • If you are advised to report your debit card was lost or stolen when it was not.
    • You are instructed to transfer any of the funds to a third party via Zelle®, CashApp®, Venmo®, Apple Pay®, Western Union, ACH or another type of direct transfer.

  5. Online Job Scams
    With these type of scams, you may be directly contacted or have applied for a job online. Job scams offer the ability to earn thousands of dollars with little effort involved. You received an initial “paycheck” to which you will be required to pay a fee or purchase a type of starter kit. Through consistent communication between you and the scammer, the scammer hopes to gain your trust.

    Be aware of:
    • The guarantee of earning lots of money.
    • Opportunities that allow you to work from home.
    • Requests for you to pay for your own materials, especially via money orders, wire transfers, bitcoin, or gift cards.
    • Unclear descriptions of the job or what will be required of you.

Protecting yourself

Learning how to spot scams and what to look for will help you avoid becoming a victim of account fraud. Scammers get creative and will have a fake story or opportunity to make you believe a check or money order is real. They will advise you to cash the item and send them the funds. The fraudulent check would then be withdrawn from your account, leaving you responsible for the any owed funds.

Here are tips to help you spot scams:

  • Be aware of someone asking you to deposit an item into your account and immediately wire or send a portion of the funds elsewhere. The request can be for gift cards, bitcoin, western unions, money orders or directly transfer to another financial institution.

  • Always tell a VyStar employee if you are concerned or unsure of a check that is being deposited into your account.

  • Be wary about strangers who ask you to deposit checks for them, ask about financial opportunities or share debit cards and PIN numbers.

  • Never give out personal information, such as your Social Security number, bank account information, online banking credentials or credit or debit card numbers to anyone who contacts you by phone, email or text message.

  • If you are using online dating sites, be careful with people asking for financial assistance. Never give out personal or financial information, such as account or debit card numbers.

  • Watch out for work-from-home jobs or secret-shopping jobs. No legitimate company will require you to wire or send off a portion of money or will ever ask for your online banking credentials.