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This article is from Trend Micro.
Zelle, the well-known digital payment app, is mega-popular because of its convenience. However, scammers also find Zelle convenient to use as a tool for cheating people out of money! Keep reading to check out 2 of the most common Zelle scams and learn how to protect yourself:
Scammers impersonate banks such as the Bank of America or Wells Fargo and send you a fake “security alert” that says you’ve approved a Zelle payment. You’re instructed to reply to the message or phone the provided number if you don’t recognize the payment — which you obviously won’t because it’s fake! Sometimes the scammers will call you directly, too.
On the phone call (the caller ID will be spoofed as the bank’s name), a scammer will pose as a bank employee and inform you that the email you received means your bank account has been compromised. To stop you from losing all your money, the fake employee will urge you to use Zelle to transfer all your money to your own personal Zelle account.
The scammers then guide you step-by-step into making a Zelle transaction — to a Zelle account you’re lead to believe is your own. However, although the Zelle account is in your name, it is actually controlled by the scammers and any money sent to this account will go straight into their pockets.
Scammers have also been targeting online sellers. If you’re selling something online, they may impersonate potential buyers and contact you saying they wish to purchase it. Then will insist on using Zelle to pay you, and they may even offer to pay more than the asking price.
Source: Reddit
Then they will send you a fake Zelle payment notification, making you believe that they’ve paid for the item. You may also receive a fake email from your bank, falsely claiming that they have already paid with Zelle, making you believe you need to send them the item. Of course, they haven’t sent you a cent!
Source: Reddit
In other instances, they complain that there were issues with their payment and ask you to give them a refund. If you fall for the lie and send them the money, you’ll never get it back!
Source: Reddit
Trend Micro Check is an all-in-one browser extension and mobile app for detecting scams, phishing attacks, malware, and dangerous links — and it’s FREE!
After you’ve pinned the Trend Micro Check extension, it will block dangerous sites automatically!
(Available on Safari, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge).
You can also download the Trend Micro Check mobile app for 24/7 automatic scam and spam filtering. (Available for Android and iOS).
Check out this page for more information on Trend Micro Check.
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