Someone Wants to Send You Money? It's Likely a Money Scam | Wire Transfer Fraud | Ent (2024)

FAQs

Someone Wants to Send You Money? It's Likely a Money Scam | Wire Transfer Fraud | Ent? ›

1. Unexpected Requests for Money. Getting an unexpected request for money online could be a sign of a wire transfer scam. This typically involves an email, message, or phone call asking for funds – and it can come from an unknown sender, or someone close to you.

If you try to sell a good or service, a scammer may contact you posing as an interested potential buyer. When you agree on a price, they may ask to pay you using a money transfer. Then, instead of sending you money, they request money to try to trick you into paying them.

Newer schemes have evolved that exploit virtual meetings — in which the fraudster uses a fake still photo of the CEO or CFO and even "deep fake" audio to directly request an employee to initiate a wire transfer to the fraudster's account.

Interac e-Transfer^® fraud occurs when a third party is able to intercept an email money transfer and correctly guess or obtain the password. Banks use a variety of tools and technologies to verify that customers are who they say they are (called authentication) to protect their banking transactions.

However, because wire transfer payments are typically irreversible, they are commonly used in fraud schemes. These five tips can help you protect your accounts.

These scams can move funds in various ways and may include gift cards, credit cards and other prepaid items. The person may even send you a fake check, but once you deposit it, the money may disappear from your account. Never take money from someone you don't recognize.

Money mule scams happen several ways. The story often involves scams related to online dating, work-at-home jobs, or prizes. Scammers send money to you, sometimes by check, then ask you to send (some of) it to someone else. They often want you to use gift cards or wire transfers.

Funds transfer fraud is a common cyber attack in which hackers redirect funds from a victim's account before or during a money transfer so that the fraudsters receive the payment instead of the intended recipient.

Suspicious transactions are financial activities that raise doubts due to their unusual nature. It also involves the potential to involve illegal or illicit activities. As a customer, this includes unauthorised debits from your bank account.

It might be bizarre phrasing, awkward English, poor grammatical choices, incorrect punctuation, or simply weird spacing or capitalization. These all suggest that you may be dealing with someone other than a legitimate contact.

Can I get my money back if I transfer to scammer? ›

If you've transferred money to someone because of a scam

This type of scam is known as an 'authorised push payment'. Your bank or building society should reimburse you if it's registered with the Lending Standards Board under their Contingent Reimbursem*nt Model Code (CRM Code).

Personal checks are an excellent alternative to cash as a safe form of payment. However, they are not as good as cashier's checks because the potential for fraud is high. Unlike cashier's checks, there is no guarantee that the person's bank account has enough money to cover the check.

Once you decline an Interac e-Transfer, the sender will receive a notice stating that you have chosen to decline the transfer. The sender will be asked to deposit the funds back into the original bank account. You may include an optional message to the sender with your reason for declining the Interac e-Transfer.

Because wire transfer payments are near-immediate – and usually irreversible – they frequently attract criminals who may use social engineering scams to trick you into sending them money, or to gain access to your account to wire your money to themselves.

Scammers have received the money, transferred it to another account, and disappeared. Falling victim to phishing, pharming, or CEO fraud unfortunately doesn't qualify for reversing a wire transfer.

A name that doesn't match an account can be a sign of a scam. You should speak to the payee to check it's really them requesting the payment and confirm the BSB and account number.

Fake refunds

If you're selling something on an online marketplace, a scammer may reach out claiming that they're interested in the item and will make a payment via Cash App — except you won't receive the money, and they'll claim they've sent payment multiple times.

In the most basic form, an overpayment scam consists of a scammer claiming, falsely, to have sent a victim an excess amount of money. The scammer then attempts to convince the victim to return the difference between the sent amount and the intended amount.

Why are random people sending me money? If a random person sends you money, it's likely a scam. Scammers send money using stolen cards and hacked Cash App accounts to strangers hoping they'll send the same amount back to them.

If you believe that you are participating in a money mule scheme: Stop communication with the suspected criminal(s). Stop transferring money or any other items of value immediately. Maintain any receipts, contact information, and relevant communications (emails, chats, text messages, etc.).