When online payment scams skyrocketed between 2022 and 2023, major banks in America saw the need to start educating their customers about potential types of fraud.
Bank of America (BofA), a Zelle partner, also began to send out fraud warnings with every transaction and put out various materials teaching customers how to keep their money safe.
However, scammers are always one step ahead of banks and payment platforms. The Bank of America Zelle scam is one of the cunning methods they use to fool victims into sending them money by posing as a bank rep.
In this article, we’ll examine BofA Zelle scam trends, red flags to look out for, steps to take after being scammed, and a safer platform for storing your funds.
Bank of America and Zelle—What’s the Connection?
Zelle is a payment platform that makes it quick and easy to transfer and receive money from people you know and trust within minutes. Because of this convenience, many banks like BofA have included Zelle’s payment system in their online banking services.
If you have an account with Bank of America, you can choose the Zelle payment option to send money directly from your banking app. You only need the recipient’s U.S. mobile number and email address to make the free transaction.
Unfortunately, scammers have found ways to exploit this payment method to scam victims and get away with it.
BofA Scam Trends—Current Zelle Scams To Avoid
Knowledge is the greatest form of defense against Zelle scammers. Learn more about these two trending BofA Zelle scams:
- Bank representative scams
- Tech support scams
Bank Representative Scams
Impersonation is a popular tactic scammers use to steal from Zelle and Bank of America users. They pretend to be representatives from Zelle or BofA’s fraud department to get you to let your guard down. They may even ask you to ignore BofA’s warnings of fraud activity on your account during your exchange—and you do so since they claim to be from the bank.
Take Lucas Bogg, a resident of Charlotte, NC, who almost fell victim to a scam call. The caller pretended to be a Bank of America Zelle fraud department representative, and even the spoofed caller ID indicated that the call was from BofA.
The scammer told Bogg that a suspicious Zelle account was opened using his information and that he had two pending Zelle transfers totaling $3,500. The scammer went further to tell Bogg that he would have to fix the issue by transferring the money back to himself to avoid being complicit in the alleged account fraud.
Bogg was suspicious of this call, so he contacted BofA directly to verify the claims on his account, and they confirmed his doubts. Although Bogg didn’t fall victim that day, one of his family members did, losing $3,500 to the same scam.
Tech Support Scams
Scammers may contact you to offer tech support for a problem you never knew existed on your account. For example, they might ask you to grant them remote access to your account to remove a virus from your account or download an app to fix the tech issue.
If you grant them access to your account information, they’ll breach and drain your account within minutes. If you download the app on your device, it installs malware, allowing the scammer to access all your sensitive data and financial accounts.
BofA Zelle Fraud Red Flags
Taking the time to properly verify any request can make all the difference in identifying scammers. If you receive a random call, text, or email from someone asking for personal or financial information, don’t hurry to take action no matter how urgent—consider the situation carefully first.
If your answer to any of the following questions is “yes,” this could indicate a potential scam:
- Was I contacted out of the blue?
- Am I being pressured to take immediate action?
- Does this seem too good to be true?
- Are they asking for my personal financial information?
- Is the payment method suspicious or unusual?
Being Contacted out of the Blue
If someone contacts you unexpectedly through email, SMS, or social media asking for your personal information or an urgent money transfer, you may be dealing with a scammer. BofA will never contact you asking for these details, so don’t click links or download attachments from strangers.
Being Pressured To Take Immediate Action
Scammers always use urgency tactics to bait victims into taking fast action. They put pressure on you by threatening to close your account, sharing alarming information about your loved ones, or posing as someone of high authority from a trustworthy organization. Before taking action, verify the claim or request confirmation using a different channel.
Receiving an Offer That Seems Too Good To Be True
Be wary of any get-rich-quick schemes, opportunities that require low effort for high rewards, prizes you didn’t compete for, and other exciting offers of this kind. While these may seem like hitting the jackpot, if you pay close attention, you’ll realize you’re about to be scammed out of your money.
Asking for Personal Financial Information
Financial institutions and payment platforms always warn customers not to give out their financial information, including PINs or passwords, bank account verification codes, and other sensitive details.
If someone claiming to be from the bank or Zelle asks you for these, it’s a scammer.
Using a Suspicious or Unusual Payment Method
Most scam payment requests will seem complicated or illogical. For example, you may be asked to transfer money back to yourself through Zelle or pay with gift cards or Bitcoin. No bank, including BofA, will ever ask you to do that.
What To Do if You Fall Victim to a Bank of America Zelle Scam
According to Zelle’s policy, you only qualify for reimbursement if the scam occurred on your account without you authorizing the transaction. You may also recover your money if the scam happened because you assumed you were communicating with a Zelle or BofA representative.
If you ever fall victim to a BofA Zelle scam, here’s what to do:
- Report the scam—Zelle and BofA encourage victims to report the fraudulent transaction immediately by calling 800-432-1000. If you fear that your identity or account information is compromised, also contact BofA’s fraud department and ask them to freeze your accounts
- Change your login details—If a breach occurs on your account, change your account password to a strong 16-character one. Alternatively, use a password manager like Google Password Manager to generate impenetrable passwords for all your financial accounts
- Alert your police department and helpful agencies—Filing a report with your local police department will prove useful during the bank’s investigation of the fraud claim. You can also alert the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for assistance in navigating fraud claims
- Transfer your savings to secure digital storage—Once scammers breach your bank account, they make a beeline for your money, and you may not be able to recover the loss. That’s why storing large savings or cash reserves in a traditional checking or savings account may be unsafe. If you still have access to your account, move your money to an extra-secure platform like FortKnox to keep it safe
