27-03-2025
New ‘spoofing' scam: ‘We kind of declared a state of emergency at the bank'
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — It's easy enough for someone to say they're calling from a local bank branch. But in this case, caller ID showed the branch's phone number and identified the branch (supposedly the Wells Fargo along Carlisle Pike in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County).
'I answered it because it didn't come up 'scam,' said Cindy Rigg-Houck, who lives nearby.
The caller said Rigg-Houck had applied for a credit card (she hadn't), and he needed to verify some personal information. When she expressed skepticism, he had answers, but ultimately, Rigg-Houck hung up and called the branch — at, as it happens, the same phone number that had shown up on her phone.
A man at the branch 'was very kind, very polite' and confirmed no one at the branch had called her, said Rigg-Houck, who isn't a current Wells Fargo customer but had an account at the bank in the past.
Rigg-Houck handled the situation perfectly, said a Wells Fargo spokesperson — a sentiment echoed by Rory Ritrievi, president and CEO of Dauphin County-based MidPenn Bank, which has received 13 similar reports from its own customers since late January.
'We started getting reports from our customers that people were calling them, supposedly from the bank, seeking information,' Ritrievi said. 'We don't publish our list of customers. I don't think any financial institution does. But if you think through the PPP loans' — pandemic-era, federally-backed loans — 'that list of borrowers and the banks that made those loans, that's very public.'
So using a little technology to spoof the bank phone numbers, fraudsters are pulling off what is basically an old-fashioned con and fooling people into giving out sensitive information.
'So we kind of declared a state of emergency at the bank,' Ritrievi said.
It's unclear whether the fraudster who targeted Rigg-Houck knew she had been a past customer of Wells Fargo. Regardless, don't be shy about being skeptical toward a caller and telling them you want to hang up and call your bank to verify whether someone there is really trying to reach you, Ritrievi said.
'If it's not legitimate, you know what they're going to do? They're going to try to talk you out of that,' Ritrievi said. 'So if they try to talk you out of that, you instantly know it's fraud. If they are legitimate, they're going to say, 'Yes, that's a great idea.''
The fraudster even called back hours later, after Rigg-Houck had confirmed no one at the real Wells Fargo was trying to reach her. In the background, her husband suggested calling the police.
'And then [the caller] cut the conversation short,' Rigg-Houck said. 'And that was the end of the conversation.'
Wells Fargo provided these tips:
Wait & validate: If you receive an unexpected text, email or phone call, do not respond or click any links. Verify the legitimacy of the communication.
Verify recipient: Only send money to someone you know, trust and can confirm their identity. Once you approve sending the funds, the money leaves your account and is often unrecoverable.
Set up alerts: Use account alerts and two-factor authentication and monitor your accounts frequently.
Be vigilant: Anyone can experience a scam. When in doubt, stop and get help.
Don't share personal information: Don't share your username, passwords, PIN numbers or access codes.
Don't trust caller ID: Scammers can spoof legitimate phone numbers by altering caller ID.
Don't be pressured: If someone asks you to make a payment using a gift card, cryptocurrency or a prepaid card, it's a clear sign of a scam.
'I think the best thing that we could tell all of our customers — and every bank customer in the country — is be concerned,' said Ritrievi of MidPenn Bank. 'Be on high alert. Be — if you want to call it 'paranoid,' be 'paranoid.''
'It takes a partnership between the financial institution and the customer,' Ritrievi said. 'Both have to do their roles. And if both do their roles, these [scams] are never successful.'
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