Consumer Alert: Attorney General Griffin Warns Against Bank Imposter Scams

LITTLE ROCK – Following a recent uptick in scams involving people impersonating banking representatives, Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following consumer alert to help Arkansans identify these types of scams and protect themselves:

“Imposter scams are one of the most dangerous types of robocalls. In 2023 alone, Americans lost close to $2 billion to imposter scams. A popular form of these calls are bank imposter scams, in which the caller impersonates the recipient’s bank in order to obtain personally identifiable information from the call recipient. In these scams, the caller claims that fraudulent activity has been detected on the call recipient’s account. The call recipient is then asked to provide identifying information—such as PINs, bank account numbers and answers to security questions. The scammer then uses that information to access the consumer’s account. These scams are particularly believable when the callers spoof their calls, causing the bank’s telephone number to appear on the consumer’s caller ID.

“Bank imposter scammers prey on consumer fear and attempt to instill a sense of urgency to pressure consumers to act without thinking.”

If you receive a phone call or text message by someone purporting to be with your bank, use the following tips to keep yourself and your finances secure.

•    If you receive a call from someone claiming to be with your bank, hang up and call your bank. Do not call a number that the caller tells you to call. Call the number on your account statement to confirm that you are speaking with your financial institution. 
•    Do not share sensitive financial information to anyone who calls you—even if the number on your caller ID belongs to your bank. Do not give a caller your password, PIN, security question answers, or other identifying information. Your bank will never ask for this information.
•    Your bank will never ask you to transfer money to another account in order to protect it.
•    Be suspicious of any caller who attempts to pressure you into acting immediately. Scammers try to create a sense of urgency to prevent victims from thinking through the situation.
•    Never send a payment in order to receive a refund. Your bank will never ask you to transfer money before they can reverse a fraudulent transfer.
•    These scams can also occur via text message. Do not click on any links from text messages purporting to be from your bank, as they may be download links for malicious software that takes personal data from your phone. Always go directly to your bank’s website.
•    If you think you have fallen victim to an imposter scam, call your bank immediately.

Imposter scams are sometimes easy to identify, but many scammers are sophisticated, making their fraud difficult to identify. Use the above tips to keep yourself safe from bank imposter scams.

If you wish to file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General, you can do so by calling (800) 482-8982, emailing consumer@arkansasag.gov or visiting www.ArkansasAG.gov.