Fresh off the credit card fraud experience, I got a new one today. Phone call out of the blue from an 878 area code. This is from the area surrounding Pittsburgh, PA, but people are accustomed to area codes with 8s and 7s being toll-free and business numbers. I actually thought, “This would be a good phone number to do fraud with”.
He said he was from Truist Bank, where my business accounts are. He told me there was a strange wire coming from my account, $1500 to Sonya something or other. I was already suspicious, but when he couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me the last 4 of my account, and said it was “from my primary checking”, I stopped him as he was about to go into the verification process where he gathers information about me to verify that I’m the account holder. Truist actually does this, and kind of stupidly, to be honest, but only when I initiate.
He then tried to gently argue with me when I told him I don’t give that information to people who call me and that I was going to call the bank. That made me over 99% certain it was fraud, so I hung up with him and called Truist. I manage about $700K of client funds at Truist so fraud is kind of a big deal.
They confirmed there were no wires coming out, and that I’d get notifications if there were, so all good. Remember, any legitimate caller will absolutely not argue with you if you tell them you don’t give that out to people who call you and that you are going to call the number on the website, or on the back of your credit card, or whatever.
