03/23/2024
This happened today to very good friends of mine! Be very wary when dealing with these calls!
Very important FRAUD / SCAM Warning...
Just thought I'd share a very scary experience that we just encountered this morning...
1. We received a phone message, saying it was our BANK (local number) and to stay on the line for a very important message.
2. The phone message went on to say that they had a very important message for us from our bank and to stay on the line while they sent me a one time text message with a code to confirm it was me.
3. In the text message they provided a 6 digit code which they asked me to enter into the phone conversation, to confirm it was me... The text message 100% resembled other text messages from CIBC, so I typed in the number "they had provided me", thinking that there may have been fraudulent charges on my credit card, etc., and this was the important message they wanted to give us..
4. When I entered the code, the recorded message said that the important message was that there would be an interruption in service from 10-11 pm tonight, which seemed to be a very weird emergency, and this got us thinking...
5. We immediately went into our account to change the password, only to find that we could not log in, as our password had just been changed...
6. We tried calling the bank number on the back of our card to report a suspected fraud, but the phone wait was over an hour, so instead we hopped into the car and went to our local bank (lucky it was open. ) When the bank checked our account, sure enough, someone had changed our password and put "their" phone number on my bank account, altering my banking information, etc, etc, etc..
7. The bank immediately put a hold on the account & issued us a new bank card, NEW password, etc, as well as taking their phone number off our account...
8. Now, we still must go back in later today again, to go through all our accounts and cards with someone, to see if there were any other accounts/cards where they may have gained a fraudulent access, and of course we must closely monitor all our statements, etc...
SO, moral of the story is, be very wary of entering any codes that your bank may supposedly have sent to you - as it could be fraud. It may look genuine - as a matter of fact, the message that they sent me even came in on the same text number that CIBC legitimately has us messages in the past. This was HIGH-TEC & very deceptive, and I just wanted to warn everyone, in case you encounter anything similar to this...
One more thing, is that since the bank just changed our account password, etc - we have received literally dozens and dozens of weird email messages, telling us this & that subscription has been renewed, etc, etc, etc. However none of them are sites or subscriptions that we have ever purchased, LOL... We will sort these all out with the bank when we meet with them again here in a few hours...
Hope this is helpful to others... I know that we will be even MORE cautious now... The fraudsters really are getting quite ingenious in their deception... š”