ACH Bank Scam Warning

JillyMarie · ‎03-29-2015

Yesterday I opened my checking account to see if my IRS refund had deposited yet. It hadn't but I gave a quick look-see at what had been debited and credited to my account and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Until my eye caught an odd check number that had cleared my account for a small sum of money - $32.68. I clicked on it to get more info and to my horror it was an ACH Direct Payment paid to an entity I never heard of or done any business with. I looked back as far as I could on line and found two other similar debits both for very innocuous amounts. That is, they are small dollar amounts that are easy to pass up. (At least they were for me.)

It appears to have started in Sept. of 2017 for $28.03 and again in November for $26.09. I called my bank and explained what was going on and they closed the account and said they would replace the funds and investigate.

I checked on line for info on one of the payees and they are known scammers. The odd thing is that I seldom use this account. I use it to pay taxes and certain fees to what I thought were trusted entities. My guess is that someone down the line is stealing the info and selling it off to Eastern European scammers. I think this because the name on one of the checks was definitely Russian. The other two names were fake corporate names.

I talked to my banker and she said that other than being aware and proactive in checking your accounts, if the scammers have your account and routing numbers there is no way to prevent this type of fraud at the consumer level. Anyway, just a heads up to check your accounts carefully. I know I will be doing so in the future.

Blk&GoldFan · ‎11-08-2011

Thank you for the heads up. Last week I noticed an issue in my PayPal account. I had received a payment from an unknown source for over a $1,000; then it was w/d from my account. Seems they ripped off someone and deposited into my account, then withdrew her funds from my account. Nothing affected me financially, but just plain scary. The convenience of online banking/charge card purchases/pay pal etc. is great, but these reports remind us to keep a watch.

sunshine45 · ‎03-09-2010

this is the reason why i check all of my accounts DAILY.....even the ones that dont get used much (credit cards and bank accounts.) the faster you catch it, the easier it is to take care of.......

it definitely gives me more peace of mind.

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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

BaileyBop · ‎03-10-2010

I reconcile all my accounts, checking, charge cards every month. I would have caught this mistake the first month it happened. I am going to assume the poster does not?

JillyMarie · ‎03-29-2015

@BaileyBop wrote:
I reconcile all my accounts, checking, charge cards every month. I would have caught this mistake the first month it happened. I am going to assume the poster does not?

I knew I'd get one or two comments like this - I am going to assume the poster does not? But I felt the warning was worth the aggravation. I don't feel the need to share my bookkeeping procedure here.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

I check my checking accounts and savings account on-line every single day and make sure everything is okay. I had my debit card numbers lifted more times than I can remember and it generally starts with very small amounts because they "test" the card. But there was one-time there was an over $500.00 charge made.

JillyMarie · ‎03-29-2015

@Lipstickdiva wrote:
I check my checking accounts and savings account on-line every single day and make sure everything is okay. I had my debit card numbers lifted more times than I can remember and it generally starts with very small amounts because they "test" the card. But there was one-time there was an over $500.00 charge made.

I've been questioning the need for overdraft protection tied to checking accounts. Do you have it - O/D protection? Losing $28 is nothing compared to $28,000 and if you have O/D protection you could stand to be out a substantial sum of money.

Of course I don't keep $28k in my checking account so please, everyone, no comments on how stupid that would be.

DJs mom · ‎06-06-2012

I check my accounts daily and I also have alerts tied to my accounts. I get an email instantly anytime my card is used (online or in person) for an amount of $50 and above.

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

I check my account & cc's several times per week.

I balance my check register every month to the penny.

I balance my register as I enter transactions so would not take me long to catch it.

I use an Excel Check Register that automatically adds & subtracts as I enter my transactions.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

Yes, that is exactly why they tell us to check our bank accounts every week. They've been telling people that for several years now. The vast majority of electronic thefts are small dollar amounts like that. Things that most of us just overlook or we think, we have bought something and forgot about it. I rarely use my checking account, I write 2 checks a month. It's easy for me reconcile that statement. I use my debit cards for almost everything and while I just do not have the time to check either one everyday, I do check them every week. It's in my schedule; I do it every Sunday morning at 7am before I begin my day.