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If you have a Bank of America, Member FDIC, account, you may have received an email that looked like it was from your bank but was actually a scam. As with any big bank or large company, scammers target names like Bank of America and reach out to their customers in phishing scams.
What Are Bank of America Email Scams?
Scammers and hackers will target Bank of America customers through email or text messages — also known as SMS — and try to get the recipient to disclose sensitive information, such as account numbers and social security numbers. Several Bank of America email scams exist.
Fortunately, you can avoid becoming a victim of Bank of America email scams by knowing how to recognize them. Let’s look at some of the most common scams circulating today.
False Fraud Alerts
One of the most common scams occurs when a Bank of America customer receives an email or text message notifying them of “unusual or suspicious activity” on their account. The message might provide a phone number to call or a fake website to visit.
When you call the number or visit the website, you’ll be asked to provide sensitive account information to confirm the account is yours. The website may also install malware on your computer.
How To Protect Yourself
Do not click links in emails or text messages. To contact Bank of America support, call the phone number on the back of your debit or credit card or dial (877) 366-1121.
Account Verification Scam
Similar to the “fraudulent activity” scam, you might receive an email or text saying that you need to verify your Bank of America account. The language in the email is likely to convey a sense of urgency. Again, it might send you to a fake website to verify your sensitive account information, including your social security number.
How To Protect Yourself
Be aware not to click any links in emails. Know how to spot fake email addresses, as well. Bank of America emails will come from the domain bankofamerica.com. Any email address with extra spaces, or a .us or .net extension is likely fake.
Text or Email Claiming Your Account Has Been Suspended
This intricate scam uses a document on fake letterhead that looks like it might be from Bank of America. The folks at Bitfender.com spotted phishing campaigns generated from an IP address in Belize. The letter, which bears the Bank of America logo, says your account has been suspended.
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You are asked to download a form and confirm your banking details, often including your credit card number and the CVV code on the back.
How To Protect Yourself
Bank of America will never ask for account details or credit card numbers online, in text or via their chat service. Do not share this information online and avoid downloading any forms or attachments unless you are certain that you know the sender.
Zelle Payment Confirmation Email
In this increasingly common phishing scam, Bank of America customers receive a text or email asking if they sent money to someone via the Zelle person-to-person payment platform connected to their Bank of America account.
When you reply “no” you might receive a call from someone claiming to be from the bank’s fraud department. The representative tells you someone is trying to hack your checking account and, to protect your money, you’ll need to transfer it to a second, secure account via Zelle.
But the representative is not from Bank of America. Unfortunately, since you voluntarily sent the funds through Zelle, you may not be able to make a fraud claim to get your money back.
How To Protect Yourself
This scam combines a popular P2P payment service with phishing emails and uses social engineering to convince people to send payments to an unknown account via Zelle. To protect yourself, never send money to anyone you don’t know via Zelle.
Also, be aware that Bank of America will never ask you to transfer money to prevent fraud. The bank’s fraud protection department would lock your account and send you a new debit card.
Emails Directing You to a Fake Bank of America Website
Scammers use a variety of tactics to get you to click a link that appears to be a Bank of America website. If you click the link, you could be infected with malware, including keylogging software that records your online activity and steals other account passwords.
How To Protect Yourself
If you receive an email that appears to be from Bank of America, hover over the link in the email. Do not click it. You will see the actual site name, which will probably not be the Bank of America website.
Bank of America Gift Card Scams
The last Bank of America scam targets individuals who may not be customers, enticing them to complete a survey to win a Bank of America gift card. When you click the link, you might be asked to provide a credit card to pay “processing fees.”
How To Protect Yourself
Never pay money or enter your credit card information to claim any sort of prizes online.
FAQ
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Bank of America email scams.
- How do I know if an email from Bank of America is real?
- Emails from Bank of America will come from the domain bankofamerica.com. They should not have typos or misspellings, which is usually a dead giveaway that an email is a scam. However, as today's hackers often use artificial intelligence to generate grammatically perfect emails, it becomes harder to spot fraudulent emails just based on the language.
- Are there any Bank of America scams?
- Many scams prey on Bank of America customers, either requesting sensitive account information or requesting funds.
- Can Bank of America email me?
- Bank of America can email its customers with fraud alerts, account activity notifications and special offers. Emails will come from the bankofamerica.com domain and will never ask for personal information.
- What is an example of Bank of America email?
- All Bank of America emails end in bankofamerica.com. For instance, if you want to report a suspicious email to Bank of America, you should forward it to abuse@bankofamerica.com.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
