Card Cracking has been in the local news recently and it’s becoming more common place in our local colleges and university and it’s a problem.
Here is a good explanation of card-cracking from Wells-Fargo:
You see a post on social media (primarily Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) about making quick and easy money. The scammer will ask you for your debit card and Personal Identification Number (PIN) in order to deposit a check into your account. In exchange for your information, the scammer promises you a portion of the funds being deposited. After receiving your account information, the scammer deposits a fake check into your account, via ATM, mobile deposit or other method. The scammer immediately withdraws the deposited funds from your account, sometimes resulting in an overdraft. They may then direct you to report a lost or stolen card to the bank and seek a reimbursement for the “stolen funds.”
Tips:
- Your participation turns you into a co-conspirator.
- If you take part in a card-cracking scam, you could lose more than just the funds in your account. It is illegal to knowingly deposit bad checks and can result in both hefty fines and criminal charges.
- If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Don’t respond to online solicitations from people you don’t know.
- Never share your banking information with others.
Other common scams to watch for:
- Do not cash checks for strangers, no matter how compelling their story.
- Do not wire funds to people you do not know and trust well. This scam is often seen with on-line dating relationships.
- If you are informed you have won the lottery, know that legitimate lotteries pay the taxes to the government. They do not ask the winner to pay.
- Government agencies do not spontaneously award free grants. Do not pay processing fees for a grant you did not submit.
- Offers to perform minimal work from home for a lot of money are typically scams. Do not accept any work-at-home opportunities that involve processing checks or electronic payments through your personal account. This includes “mystery shoppers.”
- If you are selling an item or renting property, never accept a check for more than the purchase or rental amount. Do not return “just the difference.“
- Do not share your Internet Banking password with anyone. Do not allow anyone permission to remotely deposit a check into your account.
Always double check any offer that seems extremely good in your favor. Ask for references and numbers where you can initiate a call and verify who you are speaking with.
Remember that any of the above scams can result in you being liable for the money involved.