How to verify a caller claiming to be your bank

One rule covers it: hang up and call the number on your card. Everything else is detail.

Why the display can't be trusted

Bank fraud-department scams spoof the bank's real number, so the incoming call matches what's printed on your card. The display proves nothing; verification has to happen on a call you originate.

The safe procedure

Tell the caller you'll call back, hang up, and dial the number on the back of your card or in your banking app. Real fraud departments expect and encourage this. On the outbound call, ask whether any alert exists on your account.

What a real bank never asks

Your full online-banking password, your PIN, or a one-time passcode texted to you — that code is what authorizes transfers, and reading it to a caller hands over your account. Banks also never ask you to 'move money to a safe account'; that phrase alone identifies fraud.

Sources

• CFPB — Fraud and scams
• FTC — How To Avoid Imposter Scams

FAQ

The caller read my card's last four digits — real?

Last-four digits circulate in receipts and breaches. Real or not, the safe procedure is the same: hang up, call the printed number.