Citibank Alert! Your account is blocked due to too many unsuccessful login attempts.

Here is a scam which plays on the natural anxiety of consumers who are informed of suspicious activity in their bank accounts. The immediate reaction will be to contact the “bank” and check whether things are in order. Scammers use this natural reaction to their advantage by plugging in THEIR  phone number, mail id or website link, as that of the Bank.

Victims unwittingly contacts the scammer instead of the Bank and shares his account number and login credentials!  The inadvertent error results in an extremely damaging situation for victims with bank accounts ripped off all available funds.

Examples of Fraud Phone Calls

According to the  Bay Community News (baycommunitynews.com),   Roger Brown, resident of Bay County received a call purportedly from  Citibank Fraud Prevention Dept. He was told the bank has detected suspicious credit card transactions during last 24 hours and was asked to repeat his Card Number and PIN for verification.  Roger, a retail job worker in Bay County, had only recently got Citibank to raise his credit limit to $25000 and was indeed quite anxious to know whether someone had stolen money. He shared the data asked for and the caller told him to wait while he verified his account.   

The scammer was quickly on the job, ordering expensive products online. With the caller not responding even after a minute, Roger left the phone, rushed to get his mobile and called his bank. He was able to get bank to block his card before substantial damage was done.

Examples of Scam Text Messages

• “Your Citibank online account access has been blocked temporarily due to security measure. Go to <link>   to reactivate”
• “Your Access to Bank Am Internet Banking has been suspended due to suspicious activity. Please go to <link> to update your account”
• “Your Cadence Bank debit has been deactivated. Call ---  --- ----”

Examples of  Scam Emails

1. Dear Chase account holder,

Due to concerns, for the safety and integrity of your Chase online account we have issued this warning message. It has come to our attention that your account information needs to be updated due to inactive members, frauds and spoof reports.

We ask you to visit the following link to start the procedure of confirmation on customer data.

To get started, please click HERE.

Sincerely,  Chase Online Services

2. Dear client of Citibank,

Technical services of the Citibank  are carrying out a planned software upgrade. We earnestly ask you to visit the following link to start the procedure of confirmation on customer data.

To get started, please click here.

 This instruction has been sent to all bank customers and its is obligatory to follow.

Thank you,

Customers Support Service,Citi Bank

3. CommonwealthBank

Dear Customer

We recently reviewed your account and noticed that your account has been accessed from a different location.

Protecting the security of your account is our primary concern. As a security measure, we have temporarily limited access to sensitive account features.

To restore your account, we need you to confirm identity.

Click here to confirm

Customer Service, Commonwealth Netbanking

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Report phone numbers associated with Fake Calls & Texts from Banks at Scamcallfighters.com

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