Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – April 9, 2024 – Most already know that you should never provide information to someone claiming to be a credit card company, a utility, or a bank. If they contact you, unsolicited, with a text, call, or email…that’s an obvious red flag.

But a Jonesboro woman was recently the victim of a scam, even though she was the one who made the initial contact.

She wanted to switch to a different service provider from one she was under contract with. She googled “how to cancel service with [provider].”

Google gave her thousands of options, and she picked the first one. She called the number provided. “We’re sorry to see you go,” they said, “We’ll need to collect $188.91 from you today and your service will be disconnected at the end of your billing period. Do you want to pay that with a debit or credit card?”

She had a weird feeling (red flag!), but she provided a credit card number, and the scam was complete.

Scammers are in the game for the long haul, but they are scrappy. They’re happy to get a little bit at a time, but each little bit adds up. Last year in Arkansas, over $10 million was reported lost in some form of imposter fraud according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Tara Muck, spokesperson for Arvest Bank, says it’s a bigger problem than it used to be, and it’s getting worse.

“Fraud continues to be top-of-mind for banks,” she stated. “And it’s because we have financial information that can be accessed, and it’s different from usernames and passwords getting hacked to get into your email. For bank customers, once you get caught up in fraud, that money can be tied up for days and weeks as you go through the process to unravel it.”

The FTC says that imposter scams are the #1 reported fraud. Like when you get a text from someone saying they are your bank… “Did you make this transaction? Click this link to approve it.” 

And scammers always create a sense of urgency. “Take action immediately. Do this now or something bad might happen.”

Muck offered some basic steps to take before you do anything you’re being told you need to do: Slow down. Trust, but verify. Question everything. Is this an unsolicited message? Do I normally get a text from these people?

Definitely don’t click any links!

As soon as you suspect something is wrong, let your bank know. They can keep more money from being taken from your account. Get into the habit of checking your accounts often. The sooner you see something and say something, the quicker they can act to stop losses.