If you’re wondering what a scammer can do with my bank account number, this is what our guide focuses on and talks about all the preventive measures you must keep in place to protect yourself the best from falling into any such trap.
While advanced technology has paved the way towards modern solutions, it has also increased illegal and unauthorized activities over the platforms. Like app hacks and identity thefts, bank frauds have exponentially increased daily. Preventing your personal information, most notably the bank details, is the key to avoiding double-dealings.
What Can a Scammer Do with My Bank Account Number Online?
The bank account is your entity, and whatever transaction you perform through it appears as your transaction history. It is essential to keep a record of your payment history to be aware of anything happening on this channel.
Scammers are a whiz here, requiring minor information to crack your details. If you disseminate your bank account and routing number to a defrauder, get ready to face the consequences.
It is important to note that performing such sharp practice is impossible only with an account number. The routing number is another security number that authorizes the withdrawals from your bank account.
The account number and routing number can be quite a bummer if you hand it over to any scammer. This makes way for the fraudsters to gain access to your personal information. It also puts your financial particulars at stake.
As discussed earlier, breaking into your accounts is a piece of cake for scammers as long as they acquire these two fundamental pieces of information. Giving this information to anyone makes you vulnerable to illegal thefts, scams, or frauds.
Send Money
Anyone who wants to transfer funds to your banking account from any other means, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, or a debit card, needs to have your account number and routing number with them. Without either of these, they can’t deposit money into your account.
Scammers can send money using this information, which might set you up for money fraud. Whenever you hand over such sensitive data to someone, make sure they either owe you some money or are legally obliged to perform no such act.
If you witness any extra funds on your account, it would be best to track the payment instantly and inform your bank about the situation.
ACH Fraud
Another fraud scammer can commit is ACH fraud, a transaction altered to mislead the funds. What happens is that payments are scheduled using your personal information. These can either be recurring payments or one-time payments of a certain amount.
If you do not take preventive measures on time, such as when using checks at a shopping store, the funds keep vanishing from your account unauthorized. Checks are mainly the source of unveiling your account and routing number to someone, which can be used for ACH frauds.
Imposter Scams
Imposter scams are the tricky and risky ones to crack while you are on the verge of panicking. Such scammers usually pretend to be some government official or say that they are contacting you from one of the licensed federal agencies.
To grip you into their fraud, they entice you into a conversation where they make you believe you’ve won a prize. Furthermore, they mention that you are responsible for paying a certain amount in the name of fees or taxes for the said price.
Please beware of such government imposter scams as no such official federal agency asks people for payment on prizes they win.
Fraudulent Checks
It’s common to wonder, “Can someone withdraw money from my account with a bank account number?”
Fraudulent checks lie under the category of forgery, which scammers can commit when they have your account number. They only require a paper check, forging your signature, and entering the sensitive information needed to make a payment.
They either cashed these checks or used them for purchases. Fraudulent checks carry a sizeable risk since scammers can add any amount and get cashed. If you regrettably have considerable cash, it will be gone even before you notice.
Phishing Scams
You might have heard of or even experienced emails or texts from sources claiming to be your official banks. Using this sharp tactic, scammers imitate and trick you into revealing your bank account information, such as account number, SSN, and routing number.
They then use this information to hack your account and make unsanctioned transfers. Not only this, but they also send you a link asking you to update your information on the fake ad self-created website.
Please note that these are pure scams that extract your relevant personal details to commit bank fraud.
Online Shopping
With features like websites that provide credit lines or online stores that give you cash back, this shopping means has increased considerably. If you are a regular online shopper, you’d know that certain online retailers require bank account information. This is where you are technically inviting scammers to hack into your information.
Anyone with access to this information can easily approach your checking account and utilize the funds for online shopping. Avoid this act and find a suitable alternative to keep security at your convenience.
Withdrawal Scams
Another fraud that a scammer can commit is the automatic withdrawal scam. To be able to comprehend, you must keep track of your daily transactions. In this scam, you get a call or postcard claiming you’ve won a particular prize.
If you respond to the offer and accept it, they ask you to say the numbers on your check as verification. This is a deception where the information is put on a demand draft and processed further.
The draft is passed on to the bank that withdraws the money from your checking account and pays the other party. Please note that this doesn’t require a signature; you won’t know until it’s too late.
How Does a Scammer Get My Account Details?
You might be wondering what the outlets are that give off your information to scammers. Here are a few things you must keep in mind to prevent anyone from invading your private bank information.
- Interception of Email: Scammers can intercept your email log and get access to your financial and personal information. Another way they could get your account details in the mail is redirection. It usually enhances the feasibility of scammers stealing your bank account information.
- Breach of Data: Data breaches are a common problem faced by financial institutions. Several banking units experience a data breach that puts your sensitive information on the line. Unfortunately, scammers can access your account details in this way.
- Pharming: Pharming is another online scam that manipulates traffic on shopping websites and tugs them to reveal financial information. As soon as you fill out your bank account information at checkout, your data gets stolen immediately.
- Forums for Carding: Carding forums are also one of the major hubs where scammers can get access to your bank information. These carding forums provide your details for the sale, including your account number, email address, and much more.
Who to Report If Scammer Uses My Account Number?
Before reporting any such activity, it is essential to keep your eyes and mind open and track all your payments regularly.
If you witness any skepticism about your transaction history or account balance, it would be best to contact your bank promptly.
Several other steps you can opt for in case of suspicious activities on your account include.
- Contact the official credit bureaus and contact their fraud monitoring department. Three major credit bureaus are TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
- Another agency is the Federal Trade Commission, where you can present your case in case of any inconvenience.
- US Department of Justice’s Fraud Section also facilitates bank frauds and scams. Do contact the respective department to get into the depth of such forgery.
- You can also approach the local police department in your territory and explain your case to them.
Keeping a constant track of activities in your banking is the first and foremost step everyone must try to adopt. This can prevent or mitigate the chances of deceits on the account.
Things to Keep in Mind to Avoid Bank Scams
It is impossible to wipe away the bank scams and root them out completely. But you can always take several steps to prevent getting trapped in such acts. Here are a few things you must keep in mind:
- Always try to hand over such sensitive information only to trustworthy sources.
- What to do if someone has your bank account number? Keeping a bank account number private isn’t practically possible, but you can always open a separate account to receive transactions.
- Try limiting the use of paper checks since they contain critical information about your bank account.
- Try to use your best judgment and avoid falling into anything that does not seem legit in the first place.
- If you are using online banking, the wisest choice would be setting up two-factor authentication to guard your information,
- Pay heed to scam calls you receive and try to break them down, whether from the official source.
- Using the prepaid card or money transfer app would be best rather than giving out your baking information.
- Set up alerts and notifications on your banking app and website so you are always cautioned if anything suspicious happens.
- Any calls that claim you are winning a prize must be ignored, and never pay them anything in exchange.
- Try to avoid cashing a check for anyone that you don’t trust.
Before You Go!
Banking is undoubtedly one of the advanced and easiest ways of managing your finances, but as we say, not everything that glitters is gold. Bank frauds are pretty common nowadays. Therefore, people often need help with what a scammer can do with their bank account number. Scammers are all over the internet, and these wizards require only a bit of information to get everything they want.
The best way to avoid such scams is to manage and scrutinize your transaction activities efficiently. If there is anything you didn’t authorize or make a payment yourself, this should ring enough bells to notify you about the fraud. Never give out your bank account number, let alone the routing number, to anyone other than reliable sources.
Miriam Caldwell is a dedicated & expert freelance writer to educate people about personal finance management and budgeting. She shared her knowledge and published the articles at TheBalance.com, GOBankingRates, and BlissfullyDomestic.com. Many financial institutes pick Caldwell as the brilliant source for educational personal finance content.
