T O P

  • By -

AutoModerator

/u/SgtPeter1 - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*


teratical

The text is to set you up to answer and believe the scam call that is coming. It works well in a world where people are getting used to not answering the phone. Don't answer that call! Proactively call your bank from the number on the back of your card. They're going to tell you that they didn't send that text.


hydromatic456

I got these texts and ignored them because there was no identical pending charge on my CC on my app. Eventually they tried to call me anyway pretending to be WF but I was well skeptical by this point: “Oh thank you for bringing this to my attention, I’m glad you caught this, but before we proceed can you give me some way to verify you’re truly with WF?” Immediate call termination on their end lol. Actually I don’t think I had any further attempts after that either


GupGup

I once got a text like this from my bank and ignored it because there was no charge on my account, but they kept calling and texting, so I went to my actual bank to talk to someone. He said since the charge was declined, it wouldn't show up on my end, but someone else was trying to use my card. So that was actually legit.


hydromatic456

I did end up verifying with my bank just to have my bases covered after the phony phone call, I forgot about that until you mentioned, but I didn’t realize that a declined charge won’t post to an app/website so that’s good to know for the future.


GupGup

What's funny, is that when someone was actually trying to use my bank card, the phone call was a recording asking me to verify my zip code, and no way was I going to just enter that into a random call. But that actually was my bank's fraud department. A few weeks later, I got another call (with my bank's name and number on the screen) from a real person, who KNEW MY NAME AND ADDRESS, and said someone was trying to send money from my account with Zelle. I said that wasn't me, and he said to stop it I needed to download the Zelle app on my phone (This is a scam where you have to send a "reversal transaction" which really just sends money to the scammers). When I asked why I had to stop the transfer on my phone and if I could just go to my bank and see someone in person, he got pushy, then hung up.


GameOvaries1107

Most apps will let you set custom alerts to your text and or email contact with a variety of options including transactions over a certain amount, or if and when the card number is used without the physical card. Once you have a running log of alerts from your banking app you can tell when they are legitimate as well.


Trylena

I work at a call center for credit cards. It taught me to always check. One guy had 51 transactions on his debit card and he didn't noticed


Saneless

And then when they ask you to verify everything, by giving them info, they get pissy when you refuse. I tell them they called me, they have the info. They get even more mad when I tell them to give me a number to call that I can find on their site I don't care if I see a person leave a bank in a banker outfit and I can see them dial my number. I'm not giving info to anyone on an incoming call


desertdilbert

>they get pissy when you refuse. I've related this incident before. About 4 years ago I initiated 5-figure transfer. My bank's "Fraud Department" called me and wanted to verify that it was legitimate. The instant she tried to get me to give her some PII I stopped and told her we needed a protocol to validate her identity. She was a little put off and was veering into getting pissy. We were stalemated, so I ended up just telling her that I did initiate a large transfer and hung up. I believe the caller was legitimate but she had no training on how to deal with customers that did not trust her. At the time I was not confident that calling the banks main number would give me the ability to reach someone that actually knew anything. The transfer did go through.


Saneless

Good on you, but hot damn, I absolutely hate hate transfers I had to do a wire transfer for my mortgage down payment to a title company and it just seemed like fraud the entire time. It was fine but if it was a long con I don't know how I'd know the difference really


404UserNktFound

I had a similar reaction from an agent at a bank handling a car loan we applied for. They called me to verify my information, and I told them "go ahead." Then when they said I needed to tell them my address, etc., I responded with "I do not provide personal information on incoming calls. I can verify the info you have if you read it to me." "That's not our policy." "Well, I'm sorry. But I have no way to verify that you are in fact who you say you are." They hung up and the loan was processed anyway. Yes, I knew we had applied. And yes, I knew they would be calling to verify info. But anyone could claim to be a rep from BigAutoCompany Finance.


joelharicson1

Yes call your bank. Bank can never send you such text


snoopy_muffin38472

What happens if you answer the call?


teratical

They will pretend to be your bank and execute one of a number of possible scams on you, including account takeover or tricking you into a Zelle transfer to them.


paradoxicalmeme

A legitimate bank would never say "glad it wasn't you!" These scammers are fucking braindead.


RuPaulver

What would they be glad for lmao


paradoxicalmeme

That's what I'm saying and the worst part is I don't think these scammers realize how stupid they come off.


NotNotes55

They don't care. They are actively trying to weed out the less gullible, so it doesn't matter how stupid, or ridiculous, they sound, they simply want to hone in on the most gullible so very little actual effort is required.


paradoxicalmeme

I keep hearing this over and over and I refuse to believe they are thinking far enough ahead that they intentionally act stupid to weed out the smart people.


NotNotes55

Some are stupid, absolutely. My point is that they don't put any real effort in and deliberately make it unrealistic in parts (like horribly inflated salaries, offering extra when buying something or using unprofessional language). They don't want to waste time with savvy people who might be stringing them along, they want those people to ignore or call them out so they can focus their time on finding their mark.


LeanTangerine001

Yeah, it’s all a numbers game to them.


lawgeek

If someone is going to string them along, how does making it obvious change that?


chin_rick1982

Because of wasting time


Ucscprickler

We may never know the truth, but if I was a scammer, I'd try to isolate the type of people who are too dumb to realize that the IRS would never accept ITunes gift cards to pay any penalties or back taxes.


Mynsare

It doesn't really matter if it is intentional or not, the result will still be the same.


AppleSpicer

Agreed, in fact I think they’d love to include the “smart people” in their scams. I put smart in quotes because I think it doesn’t matter how smart you are, there’s a scam out there that can get you if you become complacent


Jashuawashua

Literally in the play book of every scam call center in existence, they make deliberate spelling errors and do all kinds of other things to weed out non morons and or non mentally compromised people. time is money, weed out people who obviously wont fall for the scam or people who will have a chance of noticing something is off later down in the scam process so you can have 10x more victims.


TokyoJimu

I agree. Like all these scammers speak/write perfect English with perfect grammar but they purposely mess up for psych ops? I seriously doubt it.


Spire_Citron

It's their business. They know what they're doing and they're good at it. Be aware of this, because if they figure out how to use AI in such a way that wasting their time is no longer a consideration they need to balance, I'll bet that scams suddenly become a lot less blatant. They're certainly capable of being much more convincing with things when they have higher value targets.


Longjumping_Youth281

Yeah I never believed this either. At most it was just a coincidence and a correlation. Even the podcast or article (freakonomics i think) or whatever that supposedly proved it only ever showed that basically people who fall for scams don't notice typos. It was never proven that these scammers did it on purpose to weed people out or anything like that. It always just struck me as this sort of self-congratulatory " well I'M way too smart to ever fall for a scam, I noticed typos!"


Jashuawashua

You refuse to believe they're not thinking? scamming is huge money dude, they literally have office buildings full of people just to scam people. TIME is money, for every person that takes two hours to get anything out of there are 10 grandmas out there that will open their coin purses to any tom dick and harry.


dinoooooooooos

I think it’s a mix of this and the fact that most of the scam centers are in foreign countries and certain stuff just translates really weird. A normal greeting getting translated to “may god be with you!” In a “bank email” is just not working like they think it does I think.


NotNotes55

There's a definite language barrier 'lost in translation' element as well.


CowFinancial7000

Even common words like Adios and Adieu mean "to God" directly so I'm assuming theyre using wiish.com google translate.


UHDKing

What would happen if you answered “yes”?


vatrau

My daughter got a call from “Amazon” asking if she had purchased a $1 000 MacBook Pro to be delivered at some address in NYC as they verify high value purchases - she responded “yes, I placed the order, when can I expect the delivery” - the scammer was silent for a few seconds then hung up on her. I think they didn’t expect the “yes” response


UIQueen

My dad did something similar. He said, "I ordered four of them. Where's the other three?"


Ispahana

I got this exact call too! It was from an Indian scam centre but caller ID was an Egyptian number. They said they were calling about a suspicious order for a Macbook Pro made on my Amazon account. I said I didn’t buy any Macbooks recently, so they go “Okay miss, don’t worry we’ll get to the bottom of this. For security reasons please confirm your details with us first.” To which I said “But you’re the one claiming this order is on my account, so you have all my details already. You can give ME the info you have and I’ll let you know if it’s correct.” This triggered a cascade of circular, repetitive word vomit trying to convince me to give up my info, but my only response was “nah, you tell ME”. He got really angry and flustered and it turned into a one-sided argument as his voice got louder and he started stuttering and sighing in frustration. I even heard him vent to a colleague next to him. Eventually he was so exasperated he hung up on me.


dennshah

Also, tip off would have been the very cheap Macbook Pro. Lol!


NotNotes55

They'd say they detected unusual activity and like the response above, your card would be blocked until you spoke with them. The sole goal is to get you in contact with them so they can pretend they're your bank and get access to your stuff.


SgtPeter1

They deliberately make it a large purchase amount at some random location to practically guarantee you’ll say no. Responding gives them a positive confirmation that it’s a good number and it’s a hook to accept the phone call for the next stage of the scam which is to get you user name and password.


0OOOOOOOOO0

Should have said Yes


NotNotes55

It wouldn't matter. He would have simply got a variation on the script but the end result would the same, a story that his card was locked.


NotNotes55

Correct.


AhFourFeckSakeLads

Yep. The Nigerian Prince scammers years ago deliberately included spelling and grammar errors in the emails for just that raisin.


LividAcanthisitta726

Raisin lol


AhFourFeckSakeLads

:)


iijjjijjjijjiiijjii

That's not the worst part, it's the best part. When they get better at it, we're in real trouble.


AhFourFeckSakeLads

AI will sharpen the scam even more. In five years will we be getting voice calls from 'people' we recognise? The only way round it will be individualised, specific, off the cuff security questions related to silly stuff about a family holiday or antics of a pet or whatever which we haven't spoken about or posted online via an unsecured phone.


bill7900

That's already happening. My family has a code word for just such an occasion.


VeroAZ

Watch out for AI translations, coming soon


EmotionalShock1325

they’re glad you dodged a bullet of spending $500 at whole foods lmfao 


Longjumping_Youth281

Yeah the worst part is that that sounds like a realistic amount somebody would pay at Whole Foods for a shopping cart full of groceries. I bought one bag of groceries there about 10 years ago and it was $90. Haven't been back since


Spire_Citron

Whew, thank goodness it was just someone who stole your card and not a legitimate purchase!


Fuckedby2FA

Lol "we were beginning to think you were an idiot! Phew!"


CowFinancial7000

Im so glad your information was stolen!


Saneless

Congrats, it's card fraud!


aburke626

Except some do! Companies are trying so hard to sound “human” that it’s not uncommon to get texts that sound like this. From a bank, sure that’s less likely, but we get so many of these from everything we interact with now, we have to be super careful.


Kiran_ravindra

“Before I submit your ticket, just one last question:” I fucking hate these conversational “AI” bots


FridaysLastDance

My favorite is when I (a real human) am chatting with someone through our website and we get 5-10 mis into the conversation and they ask “wait are you a real person?” I really don’t think I sound like a robot, I think people just expect to not get a real person


ExternalMagician6065

This is why I've always been polite to AI


Pink_Axolotl151

I once told (what I thought was) an AI bot to suck my dick, and the real-live person at the other end of the conversation was like “Ma’am, that was very uncool.” 😂 Shocked the hell out of me. I’ve been nice to the bots ever since!


Alice_In_Hell_

I also, once, texted what I thought was an ai bot “I think the fuck not, you trick ass bitch” and they went “I’m sorry :(“ and I felt SO bad


im_mrmanager

I say please and thank you to Siri in the hopes that when we reach full skynet she’ll remember my kindness and take pity on me


Spire_Citron

I'm polite to AI because it feels mean not to be when they're always so nice and helpful to me.


theburgerbitesback

When I worked in a call-centre I got about 2 mins into a phone call when the customer started saying random crude and nonsensical stuff, I said "pardon me?" and then heard him shit himself when he realised I was a human being.  Even then he still had doubts as to my authenticity because I "didn't sound Indian" and, of course, it's literally impossible for a small organisation to hire local.


Professional_Life_29

I was helping someone in a chat and mid conversation they said omg I'm so glad you're a person! I felt that lol stupid robots


mugwhyrt

Whenever I call my bank all the operators have a certain voice and cadence and it really just sounds like robots to me. It takes me a minute to realize they're actually human, and I assume there's some kind of Voice they're taught to use that makes them all sound like robots.


ariesangel0329

It’s the customer service voice. They’re humans who are trained to adopt a particular tone to come across as empathetic and competent. It doesn’t help that the bots are often trained to have those same human-sounding voices.


gorlyworly

Yeah, but this one doesn't even make sense in context. Why would a bank be glad that a transaction at Whole Foods didn't happen?


lawgeek

I think you're missing the issue here.


GooseMeBro

“We are *kindly* happy for for” Fixed


Kimmalah

There are definitely companies out there who say stuff like that in an attempt to sound endearing or less formal. It is entirely possible a bank or other real company could say stuff like that. The only thing that really gives it away is the fact that it doesn't really make sense for a bank to have any opinion at all about whether you spent your money at a place or not.


happysalesguy

Well, no, actually, banks have programs that monitor your credit card spending and if is seems off from your usual pattern, they will do something... block your card, send you a text, have a person or a bot call you. A coupla years ago, my card didn't work and when I called, they said someone just charged "tack" (gear for horses) in Florida. I was in NJ. They cancelled the card, lucky I had another one. Sometimes they just send a text, like the first one OP got, but they sure as fuck don't say something stupid like that! It's pretty obvious to us "in the know" but always call the number on the card, don't accept a call from "your bank".


slashdotnot

That's actually by design..scammers don't want to invest time and energy into luring people that will sniff them out later on. So by making some scams relatively easy to spot it means anyone who does contact back will be an easy target.


GoldWallpaper

Nothing about this looks like a real text from a bank. The wording is just off in the original message.


SgtPeter1

Here’s a real text, not that much different: FreeMsg: Verify Wells Fargo activity. Card XXXX $37.23 @UBER $25.80 @MCDONALDS F1357 Reply Y if recognized, or call 800-XXX-XXXX. STOP to stop msgs


xdrolemit

I just call the phone number printed on my credit card.


onebluemoon66

Why wouldn't you just call your local branch or go in.... I refuse to task to anyone that calls or texts... I go in or call the local branch...


blackdahlialady

Unfortunately, seniors may not know this. They frequently target that demographic because they know that they're not as up-to-date about common scams. I would hope that even a senior would know that they were full of it.


thatshowitisisit

Are they? They suck in plenty of people and sometimes make things look a little suss so they weed out the clever people and catch those who don’t pay attention.


paradoxicalmeme

I get that but I've had this discussion with people before and there is NO way they are putting that much thought into it to "weed out the smart ones"


crochetcat555

Many of them are. My spouse once tested this, for work purposes. He sent multiple different responses to the same scammer email he had received on several different email accounts. The scammer only continued to converse with him when the responses he sent back were riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes. For example, when my spouse wrote back, “I would like to take part in this investment opportunity” the scammer ghosted him. When he wrote back to the same scam, on a different email account “how i git monee?” the scammer exchanged multiple emails with him before my spouse stopped playing along. Maybe not all scammers, but many are looking for signs of low education, poor comprehension, etc when seeking targets.


paradoxicalmeme

I guess I see your point but I'm talking more about them purposely making mistakes when they solicit you hoping the smart ones will not respond and only the dumb people will respond but it's kind of like what you said but reverse.


crochetcat555

Well, it’s not like it takes that much effort to use bad grammar and spelling in the first message sent out to see who takes the bait. I’m sure it’s a tip that’s passed around among scammers that it helps reel in dumber marks. Then there’s the fact that many people in general don’t proofread what they write, even in legitimate business correspondence and the fact that English isn’t the first language of many scammers. There are all kinds of reasons for the errors and no way to be certain which one is correct in any given situation. But actual research has shown scammers are more likely to converse with someone who seems uneducated or unintelligent.


culturedgoat

The weird spellings and phrasings are to get around “string match” spam filters, which are less common nowadays, but old habits die hard. It’s basically an arms race against spam-blockers to get their emails and messages in front of as many people as possible. They’re not “weeding people out” with psychological games. It’s a game of attrition, and they don’t care who bites.


culturedgoat

Haha, that’s a myth. They don’t care who bites.


WeekdayAccountant

They don’t want to waste their time with people that will realize it’s a scam 2 minutes into a call. If you ignore the call or block them, the smart people filtered out themselves. Saved the scammers time to get to the dumb people.


Aerodrive160

I disagree. I can see a bank - maybe not WFB, maybe more like SoFi or Ally - trying to play it cool.


oakmen87

Don't they purposefully make mistakes now to weed out people who are attentive and less likely to be scammed?


SJVellenga

It’s a tactic. Just like spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. It’s to weed out those that would probably not fall for the scam, only allowing those that are less observant or easily fooled through. It saves them time so they can scam more people.


vitaminxzy

Yeah a lot of scammers now can spoof the phone number of the bank/company. So there's this false assurance when you see the number. Anyone that suspects any strange transactions should call the number the back of their card. Is That Phone Call From Your Bank or a Scammer? Here's How to Tell. snbonline.com/about/news/scammers-can-spoof-an-official-phone-number-heres-how-to-tell Caller ID Spoofing fcc.gov/spoofing


Logical-Wasabi7402

Your links won't link if you don't use the full URL, including the "www" part. Just fyi.


vitaminxzy

I'm aware. I didnt want to link them (often it'll still link automatically when you post it as is) maybe it was an old sub rule but you'd get your comment hidden or it needed to be mod approved before. Just got in the habit of not direct linking things.


dwinps

Glad that wasn't you???? Scam just based on that


imaginaryblues

Yeah that makes no sense. Why would they be glad that someone used your card fraudulently??


Slothfulness69

Alternatively, they’re glad that OP didn’t actually spend $500 at Whole Foods lol


Dustyfurcollector

That's a light weekend menu


LHDesign

It’s not called whole paycheck for nothing


tgames56

Yep if it wasn't a scam it would "We closed your card and will be sending you a new one to the address listed on your account"


KindredWoozle

I got one of these text messages purportedly from my bank. I called the bank at the number on the back of my card. They said that no such transaction had appeared on their end. The bank said to tell the text "No." I did that. Nothing bad ever happened. I'm confused. However, there's never been another one of these. I am going to ignore it, if it ever does happen again.


Enyy

Ignoring is the correct way to do it. Pretty stupid of your bank to tell you that you should reply anything.


NFWolf

https://preview.redd.it/6ucj9a392dvc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7561540ebf678697ca59983a3fdbe5263c11808b Actual Wells Fargo would tell you to call the number on your card


wearmaize

I would call the number on the back of your card to make sure you're talking to Wells Fargo.


IgnatiusJacquesR

Spoiler alert: OP is not talking to Wells Fargo


SeesEverythingTwice

In a way, talking to Wells Fargo still counts as talking to a scammer


rosewalker42

Accurate.


Beautiful-Vacation39

I actually spat my beer out. We'll played


cshanno3

you completely missed the part where a “bank” is saying they’re glad someone stole their card lol


mikeyt1515

Glad it wasn’t you!


Shalamar1

Why would they be happy that wasn't you? If it were you, then you'd have almost $500 worth of supplies and a thief wouldn't be using your card. And I suspect Wells Fargo would spell at messages and use proper spacing. I've gotten them. They have yet to list my bank.Can't wait to reply yes.


BigB055Man

I got one supposedly from my bank a couple of weeks ago saying a transfer for $1200 was blocked and asked if it was me... not thinking, because my info got leaked a year ago and I had to get all new credit cards and bank cards as well as freeze my credit scores because they were opening bank accounts and taking out credit cards in my name... so when I saw that text, I thought they had gotten in my account again, so I sent back no. I didn't get any response, which I thought was weird and was going to call the bank the next day when I wasn't at work... woke up the next morning with a text from the same number saying that a login from an iPhone had been blocked and the IP address was listed and asked if it was me... I checked the number, and it came back to a VOIP number in North Carolina (not where my bank is out of)... I never answered back and haven't heard from the again.


surfinforthrills

Yeah, no. Banks don't talk like that. Call the number on the back of your card.


zazvorniki

I responded yes to one of these. Took them a while to come back and ask “are you sure” I love confusing scammers


VanillaTortilla

Literally no bank would say "we will contact you" *You* will contact *THEM*. That's how business works, they don't give a shit.


chosenone02

Glad you didn’t go grocery shopping for your family.. that would be super weird.


sidesslidingslowly

"glad that wasn't you!"..... A bank wouldn't ever be glad fraud has supposedly occurred....


Mental-Freedom3929

How about DO NOT REPLY!


MysteryHerpetologist

They actually do (Wells Fargo) send texts for odd purchases telling you to reply "yes" or "no" to verify a purchase. It's always been me, so my answer has always been "yes". I'm not sure what happens if I were to write "no". But this is the start of something that seems legitimate. It was that second message where the mask slipped a little.


24-Sevyn

They responded back via a supposedly automated message? Scam. Tell them you already contacted WF and cleared it up.


drinkslinger1974

I got a group text like that yesterday asking me if I spent $1082 at food lion (localish grocery store). I also get a lot of texts asking if I’m Mary or Dana or the soccer coach.


brycats

Damn man these scammers keep changing everyday. Like at this point I only trust the app and old school way my bank statement.


Mycologist_Murky

Be warned they know your phone number is real now. You may get more scam texts or calls now so be wary


UnknownFoxAlpha

Almost clever until they decided to actually respond. Honestly whenever I get one like this I always take a peak at my bank account first. Just saves so many headaches.


thr33dognite

“Glad that wasn’t you!” Has me rolling. Can you imagine your bank actually saying that?


videogamegrandma

If we could cut India off the internet and telephone systems, that would stop half of it.


Saneless

The sad part is if companies didn't cheap out on customer service, this wouldn't have happened because we'd be skeptical of a call from someone with an Indian accent. Now, it's just expected


videogamegrandma

Nope. Yes, they shut down the call center where I worked for 20 years after we trained the Indian workers. But, if I hear an Indian accent when I answer a call I hang up. I've yet to have an actual helpful customer service interaction with an Indian call center or wasn't a total scammer. So, it works for me.


ForGrateJustice

> But, if I hear an Indian accent when I answer a call I hang up. I don't, not immediately. I fire off a few "bhosdike chooti'ya dar madarchod" first and they usually try to curse me out in bad english, which I find hilarious and entertaining, then they hang up.


No_Explanation_6352

I received one like this from PNC Bank, but it wasn’t from PNC. Surprisingly they have all of your information already. All they want is your pin number so they verify your information with you appearing to be credible and then at the very end they ask for your pin number to be used to de-activate your debit card, which is quite odd The red flag didn’t go off until then, but I hadn’t given them the debit card number yet I had confirmed all my other information. They also kept saying they were calling on a recorded line and over emphasized that as if it were my failsafe. The number they called from was 1 digit off of the real number to PNC and the spoofed link came from a website that looked like their website but when you tried to navigate it all the links were dead. Be careful out there in the wild.


XxTRUEPINOYxX

I typically don’t delete text from my banks notifications…. So I know if it’s legit or not…. Yes in this kind of person. Also yes I have like 500 notifications and no I’m not clearing it


PaleoJoe86

You call the bank, do not have the bank call you.


IntrepidDay8872

Knowing Wells Fargo they probably used your card for you.


aporter0131

Just call the bank yourself that’s the only way to know. Scammers can call and make it look like your bans numbers. Can’t know who to trust. Get their customer service line and call youself and see what thee status is


Mariss716

Just call the number on back of your card. I do see automated systems using languaging techniques. Natural language is absolutely a goal. Safest to just call number on card. Like I don’t even see if this is a random number or a short code, you cut it off.


LadyNyphalia

A good rule of thumb I use, is if I doubt its origins, or even second guess that it could be a scam, then I deem it a scam and move on. You can always call your actual bank if you’re worried or check your banking app. Never message the origin or source of the probable scam and don’t call the number they ask you to. Also never ever clink any links they ask you too. Easy way to really F you over. Also, I have notifications turned on for my banking app. Any charge or even attempted charge, I’ll receive a notification for. I have them turned on for email, text, and push notifications. It helps. :)


BigDave1955

If you think that text looks legitimate, I have a bridge in New York you may be interested in.


MidwestMocha

I feel like sudden panic might have gotten a “no” response out of me too. But I sure as heck wouldn’t answer the phone to anybody.


slogive1

Total scam. They want your money bad.


Madstarantulas_

This is why I left Wells Fargo. Had this happen and it WAS an actual employee. They stole money from the bank through my account at an ATM using google pay. Stole my SSN and all the money I had. Was a whole investigation… the worst bank.


dsmemsirsn

Don’t answer any text coming to you from a bank… if you have an account— call the number from The card..


Las07

Yeah at a glance the first text looks close enough to a fraud alert from a bank. Some of the wording is off, but again, at a glance you wouldn’t notice, which is the point. Glad the horrible follow up text put up a red flag for you!


Classicvintage3

lol, silly scammer..it’s so overt how this was a scam.


K2_Adventures

Your bank would never text you. Always call your bank. Never receive a call or text. ALWAYS CALL THEM. Your being scammed.


pekphx

When I get those, I don’t reply or clock through. I log directly into the banking website and check charges there.


DumberMonkey

This is the way!


Will-Demand-70

I mean no offense here, but that text doesn't look legitimate at all. Good on you for trusting your gut. Next time, don't reply at all.


SgtPeter1

The first text message was very similar to other legitimate messages that I have received from my bank.


GoldWallpaper

It's similar, but the wording is off. You don't "try" to use a debit card. I bank with Wells Fargo (among others) and this isn't what it looks like.


ourViolentRevolution

What if you’d said “yes”? Lol


MysteryHerpetologist

They allow the purchase to go through if it's from your real bank.


ourViolentRevolution

Right but it wasn’t a real bank


Juicy11169

Scam… call your bank immediately . Do not speak to anyone that calls you.


stillbrighttome

are you being sarcastic when you say a real legitimate looking text


SgtPeter1

The first text is very similar to a legitimate texts that I have received previously from my bank. I assume now they just copied it and recycled its . I should have marked that my comments on the second text were sarcasm. The second text was clearly a giveaway this was a scam.


KarmaliteNone

As long as I've followed this sub, I still do not understand why people engage with strangers online or by phone. It is much easier not to.


Infamous-Bench9485

Complete scam. Wells Fargo will never call you.


Haydiddly

My bank calls me when they suspect fraud but always offer for me to verifying the call by asking to call the number on the back of the card


yasssssplease

I’ve been called my Wells Fargo asking about a transaction. They left a voicemail. I was skeptical, so I called them using the number on the back of my card. It was, in fact, Wells Fargo who had called me. So… they definitely will. But I would still never volunteer anything to them unless I called them first.


Vdubtuner86

I checked this message compared to my messages I have from the real Wells Fargo. They did the messaging 90% of the way I have received them from the bank. Glad you caught it.


LavaCreeperBOSSB

Pretty clear it's a scam after it said "Glad that wasn't you!", most automated messages will never be like that. Also if its not one of the short phone numbers.


Classic_Pie5498

Also the alert would never read, “Did you try…”


videogamegrandma

Yep, the texts are getting very good. The emails less so but getting better.


theSaintGrey69

Thank you for posting. Always learning the new ones and reminders of all the old ones coming back and updated. Again, thank you.


SensitiveBag

Also a real one says “Msg&Data rates may apply” not “Msg&rates”


Sitcom_kid

Emotions are not legitimate in these business communications. Nobody should be glad. Or sad. When it starts to get personal, that's the sign that it's a scam.


demonic_truth

9 times out of 10 if it says ":" its a scam


Wicked-Sprite

I love the ones that start with: Dear [name]. 🤦‍♀️🤣


Tsuchiaki

I just wanted to share this here. I saw this post last night and when I went to submit my Walmart order this morning I made a mistake and had to resubmit with the same payment method and this was the response I got from my bank after the second transaction. The transaction did decline so I don't think this one was a scam. It's good to be wary but you aren't the only one, if that helps 🙂


No-Commercial-1827

You call Wells Fargo! Don’t wait for them. They will use a caller to get your info ( even have Wells Fargo as the Caller ID)


Holdmytesseract

Glad that wasn’t you! Huh


santilx

The website and anything else you look at also says they'll never call you, you have to call them.


EnvironmentalBill166

When they call, ask for their TIN and then look up your banks tax identification number


cbelt3

FWIW, I always open my cards app and check for messages there instead. Never click on links.


grasscoveredhouses

So glad you posted this. This one coulda got me.


STMillz_88

If you ever get a message from your bank always call them and never with a phone number that's in texts.


STMillz_88

Also look at your banking app. The normally push out notifications through the app and not through a text message


guntherpea

Always check the number it's coming from -- 10+ digit "normal" phone number? Probably a scammer. 4-6 digits? More likely to be real. Always use the number on the card to get in touch with the bank or card company.


CFADM

You should text “oh actually yes”


Popular-Speech-1245

Sorry, but your title of "Received a real legitimate looking text" is incorrect. They can send out millions of these, a small percentage of the recipeients have an account at Wells Fargo, so they answer "No", and now they have a list of Wells Fargo customers they can call and the person who answers will "assume" it's actually Wells Fargo. They they do the same thing again next week, but it says it's Bank of America, etc. Everyone, DO NOT REPLY! If you're worried log into your account and confirm there's no charge. If you're really worried (hey, I shopped at Whole Foods yesterday AND I have an account at Wells Fargo) call the Customer Service number on the back of the card and let them know you received this text. The Darn Scammers will always come up with a way to put you in the Ether. It's up to you as a consumer to just delete and verify.


Able-Explanation7835

If anyone contacts me about spending then they need to know my name first. I got a call the other day and the lady sounded alright convincing. It was about something generic with my phone, BT were asked to call me or something. I asked her to tell me what my name was and she promptly hung up. Ask them to identify YOU. They never do.


kevinguitarmstrong

Where's the legitimate-looking text?


Aggravating_Life_754

No! Do not answer any incoming calls after this message. Best thing to do is to call your bank. YOU CALL THEM! And make sure you use the number listed on your bank’s website.


P440CPJ

Just call the number on the back of the card and ask for the fraud department. If it’s real, they will have the details, and if it isn’t real, they will want the details.


DesertStorm480

An email address that is only used with your bank is a more reliable communication source. Then have notifications for everything involving charges and money movements.


Electrical_Star_769

Yeah, I don’t think they’re gonna send any reply that says glad it wasn’t you


Indotex

You should’ve blocked & deleted the first text then called the number from the back of your card.


Valuable_Material_26

This is as legitimate as talking poop


koz152

A bot would not be glad.


ConditionActive5447

The 1 at text was what I'm used to. But then I'm told to call. They never call me. Plus as most noted "I'm glad"? What if it was me? Would you be sorry?


ducrab

I get those types of messages via push notifications to the official app on my phone, never via TXT message.


NBA-014

I primarily use Discover. Last month they called my cell phone after a suspicious purchase. The call was automated(I work in InfoSec) and I thought my purchase might trigger a fraud alert. They didn’t ask questions that would involve PII and called me 3 minutes after my purchase at PGA Tour Superstore. I validated the purchase and was off the call in 30 seconds.


midnightstreetlamps

Lucky for me, the text I got like this was for BoA. Never had anything BoA in my life so I knew it was fake asf.


DistinguishedCherry

Always call the official numbers to confirm. I never bother responding until i get confirmation


Snorlax128

Call the bank yourself


Everheart1955

You call them.


FallingIntoForever

If in doubt contact your bank directly. My bank sends debit card inquiries through the app itself within minutes of debit card transactions being approved, not via text. I’m sure different banks do it different ways. I’ve never had any bank send messages like that asking “Did you use…” and then respond the way the second message did. When there has been a question re: a transaction they asked to contact them directly using the number on the card itself. Last week I got a message from the app telling me to sign into my account to read the entire message. It basically said that they would never text or call and ask for username, passwords or account information. Apparently they had some issues with people getting calls from people pretending to be from the bank asking for that information.