When Regions Bank customers encounter fraud, David Parker Jr. and the Fraud Detection team are ready to help.
That’s exactly what Parker, a Fraud Detection supervisor, did when his team learned of a potential check fraud scam impacting a customer. When he reached out, he learned it was much more – including a scammer posing as an official with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Not only did the scammer demand urgent payment but then coached the customer on how to do it – by withdrawing their own cash and then depositing into Bitcoin kiosks to resolve the matter.
For fraud professionals like Parker, that’s an immediate red flag.
“The IRS doesn’t operate that way,” he said. Thankfully, Parker’s team recognized what was going on in time.
Through education, we can help protect our customers, the public and our loved ones from becoming victims of fraud.
Kimberly Reece, customer advocacy manager for Enterprise Fraud Management at Regions
At Regions, helping customers identify red flags and avoid scams is a critical part of fraud prevention.
“Through education, we can help protect our customers, the public and our loved ones from becoming victims of fraud,” said Kimberly Reece, customer advocacy manager for Enterprise Fraud Management at Regions. “Unfortunately, scammers are often seasoned professionals. That’s why education is so important.”
In this case, criminals combined multiple fraud tactics to convince an innocent victim to send money. Taking a few minutes to learn about common scams and warning signs can help protect your finances and prevent months of stress and financial loss.
Check Fraud
Many people write a check, place it in the mail and never think about it again. But criminals have become increasingly sophisticated at stealing, altering and counterfeiting checks.
Elder Fraud
Scammers often target older adults by creating a sense of urgency and exploiting isolation or trust. Common schemes include romance scams, lottery scams, grandparent scams and tech support scams.
Impersonation Scams
Impersonation scams continue to rise. Criminals may pose as government agencies, financial institutions, law enforcement officers or other trusted organizations. Some scammers even use artificial intelligence to sound more convincing.
Watch for common warning signs, including demands for immediate action, threats, secrecy and requests to send money through unusual methods such as gift cards, wire transfers or cryptocurrency.
STOP-CALL-CONFIRM
The biggest red flag for any scam is urgency. Regions’ best advice is STOP-CALL-CONFIRM.
- STOP – Were you expecting the message? Is it from someone you trust?
- CALL – Do not reply to the email or text. Instead, independently contact the person or party on a number you trust – like the one provided on the back of your credit card.
- CONFIRM – Ask a direct and simple question: “I received an urgent message saying there’s an issue with my account. Can you confirm whether the message is legitimate?”
“We’ve seen the results when STOP-CALL-CONFIRM is employed as a payment control,” said Jeff Taylor, head of Commercial Fraud Forensics at Regions Bank. “Law Enforcement and other organizations have created and are communicating similar warnings to encourage this response – including the control into their payment process.”
Additional Resources from Regions.com
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The information presented is general in nature and should not be considered, legal, accounting or tax advice. Regions reminds its customers that they should be vigilant about fraud and security and that they are responsible for taking action to protect their computer systems. Fraud prevention requires a continuous review of your policies and practices, as the threat evolves daily. There is no guarantee that all fraudulent transactions will be prevented or that related financial losses will not occur. Visit regions.com/STOPFRAUD or speak with your Banker for further information on how you can help prevent fraud.