Spoofing, the new banking scam
Law enforcement in Canada and the United States are sounding the alarm about a rising banking scam that uses spoofing to trick people into surrendering their money. The scheme imitates a trusted financial institution by faking caller IDs and using official-sounding phrases, making it extremely hard to spot in the heat of the moment. It has already drained the savings of several people and is spreading rapidly across online platforms, chat apps, and even text messages because the deception feels credible and immediate. Police warn that ordinary account activity can be misrepresented, causing victims to question their own steps and hesitate to act.
A social media user exposed the scam by sharing his experience on the platform formerly known as Twitter. He disclosed that his life savings vanished and that his bank would not reimburse him. The most troubling part is that the caller seemed to originate from his own bank, since the displayed number looked authentic enough to inspire trust. The post underscores how convincing the deception can be, especially when it echoes real bank communications.
National Police guidance is blunt: do not trust any call that claims to originate from the bank. The safest move is to hang up immediately and then reach out through a verified channel to confirm whether the outreach was legitimate. People should use numbers obtained from official sources, not the ones shown on their screen, and ask questions about why the bank would request movement of funds. Verifying the identity of the caller and the purpose of the outreach before sharing information can save people from losses.
The spoofing method begins with a number on the recipient’s screen that appears to belong to the financial institution. The caller then uses banking terms to describe suspicious movements in the account and warns that the victim could be targeted, recommending moving all funds to a more secure account controlled by the scammers. The script leverages credibility and urgency to prompt quick action.
Yet the scammers are the ones shaping the situation. If their guidance is believed, the victim ends up transferring money into the criminals’ accounts, closing the window of time to reverse the operation. The urgency and fear embedded in the request leave little room for skepticism.
That exact pattern was seen in the case of Miguel Ángel, an online user who issued the first warning several months earlier. He explains that he received a call that appeared to be from ING, alerting him to suspicious movements in his account.
Miguel Ángel then followed the instructions of the supposed employee and moved funds to an ING account he believed was safe. To complete the transfers, he relied on SMS messages from a number that also appeared to be linked to ING. But the messages were not authentic, and Miguel Ángel lost all his money.
When he realized the fraud, he contacted ING, but the bank said the transfers had been voluntary and that nothing could be done. In a matter of minutes, Miguel Ángel was left with almost nothing and learned the hard lesson that it is possible to be misled by seemingly official communications.
Confronted with the rise of this fraud, investigators have stepped up public warnings. The National Police emphasize that even calls seeming to come from the bank should be treated with distrust; the correct response is to hang up and call the bank directly using a verified number. They remind people never to share one-time codes, passwords, or verification details on a call, text, or email, and to verify any requested operation through official channels.
Without vigilance, people could end up like Miguel Ángel, with accounts emptied within minutes. The core message is simple: verify every outreach, use official bank numbers, and report suspicious activity to both the bank and the police. A calm, methodical approach beats fear-driven decisions every time.