A Yucca Valley resident was recently scammed out of thousands of dollars after giving private banking information to a scammer over the phone. According to Sheriff’s reports, a Yucca Valley man received a phone call on Tuesday, February 19, from an individual claiming to be from his bank’s fraud department. The victim gave the scammer account numbers, his PIN number, and other personal information over the phone. That same day, the scammers withdrew $6,000 from the victim’s account. Reporter Andrew Dieleman has tips on how you can avoid becoming a victim of these over-the-phone banking scams…
Scammers go to great lengths to impersonate legitimate agencies in an effort to scam people out of their money. Don’t fall for the scams. If you receive a phone call from an individual claiming to be from your bank, do not provide any personal information. If it is a robocall, hang up immediately. If it is a live person, inform them that you will need to call them back. Scammers may get aggressive and issue threats, don’t be intimidated. Once you have hung up, either call your bank directly via the number provided on your bank statements or visit your bank in person and speak with a representative. Remember, banks will never ask for your PIN number over the phone. If you believe you have been the victim of a banking scam, contact the Sheriff’s department at 760-366-4175. Reporting for Z107.7, this is Andrew Dieleman.
