The First Sign You’re Being Targeted By A Scammer

How close of an eye do you keep on your checking account — would you notice if $1 went missing?

Most people think of financial fraud showing up as a large, unusual charge on their bank account, but it’s the little transactions that can actually be the biggest red flags. Called “phantom payments,” these small charges are a scammer’s way to test the validity and activity of your account before wiping it clean, explains Danai Antoniou, former fraud systems engineer and co-founder at Gradient Labs, an AI platform for financial services.

In a world where financial fraud is certainly on the rise — it’s affected 29% of checking, savings or debit account holders and 24% of credit card customers in the past 12 months alone (many more than once), per J.D. Power — here’s what else to be on the lookout for, especially during a popular shopping season.

Spotting scams isn’t always easy. A message might look like a legitimate job offer when you’ve been actively job hunting or it may read like a package delivery update when you’re expecting a shipment. Here are some warning signs.

Unusual requests

If you think your bank is reaching out to you, Antoniou says it’s important to pay attention to what it’s asking. If the bank is asking you to fill out your address, rather than simply confirm it, that’s a red flag.

“If you have to do things from the beginning, like your name, your address and your card, that is all quite weird,” she adds.

Weird email domain or phone number

Scammers often disguise their messages to look like they’re coming from a legitimate source, but the phone number or email address associated usually gives them away.

If the email domain is slightly misspelled, overly long or doesn’t match your bank’s official domain, that’s a sign that something’s off. The same goes for phone numbers, as banks won’t text you from a random local number or ask you to click a link from an unfamiliar sender.

If anything feels inconsistent, it’s safer to contact your bank directly using the number on the back of your card.

Here are six tips to safeguard your financial accounts:

Check your transactions regularly

Review your bank and credit card statements often to watch for spending patterns and spot any unauthorized charges early. Pay attention to any pending charges; the sooner you catch suspicious activity, the quicker you can report it and minimize potential losses. Setting up account alerts for all transactions means you won’t miss even $1 being taken from your account, and you see all your spending as it happens in real time.

Sign up for an identity theft protection service

With an identity theft protection service, you can spot problems early on. The best services look for identity theft, fraud and data breaches. They can monitor everything from your Social Security number and driver’s license number, to your credit files, bank and investment accounts, home and auto titles, plus dark web scanning.

Develop a relationship with your bank

Building a strong connection with your bank can make a big difference when issues arise. Let your bank know if you plan to make large purchases or unusual transactions ahead of time, as it can help the bank recognize legitimate activity and avoid unnecessary fraud alerts. Having a trusted point of contact at your bank also means you can get faster, more personalized help if you suspect fraud.

Use data removal services

Check out reputable data removal services like DeleteMe, Incogni and Optery to help limit how much of your personal information is available online. Reducing your digital footprint can make it harder for scammers to gather details they use to target you. These services work by identifying and removing your data from data brokers and other public databases.

Use a different card for subscriptions

Since recurring purchases like subscriptions, and really any online payments, are susceptible to fraud, consider using a separate card/account with a low limit for these transactions. This keeps only a small portion of your money at risk from scammers.

Double check where your card details are saved

Look at the places where your card is linked to like store websites and apps such as Uber. Make sure you have a strong password and enable two-factor authentication so be most secure.

If you realize you’ve responded to a scam or shared information with someone you shouldn’t have, acting quickly can limit the damage.

Antoniou says the first step is to contact your bank immediately. You bank can freeze your card, lock your account or stop pending transactions before the scammer can take more money. You should also change any passwords connected to the compromised account and enable two-factor authentication if it isn’t already on.

However, another growing challenge is that banks have limited human capacity to handle fraud cases. That means that even if you call your bank, you may be put on hold before you can get some real help. That’s why, according to Antoniou, banks have increasingly deployed AI agents trained on scam patterns and fraud behaviors to provide consumer support at scale — especially as scammers are also using AI to scam people at faster rates.

“You can just text or call this AI fraud analyst and say, ‘Here’s the situation — can you walk me through it?” Antoniou says. “And you get that instantly.”

At CNBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. For this story, we interviewed Danai Antoniou, co-founder and chief scientist at Gradient Labs, a conversational AI platform for financial services.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every cybersecurity review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of cybersecurity products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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