Phone scammers are once again upping their game. You may be confident that you’re able to detect and avoid them but it’s always the best practice to be suspicious of anyone who calls and tells you they represent your financial institution.
Pro Poker player and TikToker Johnnine Vibes (@johnnievibes) was rightfully suspicious of a recent call he received allegedly from his bank. Luckily, he detected a scam but he admits that the scheme was very slick and may have fooled most people.
So, he took to TikTok to issue a warning.
@johnnievibes PSA: If this saves one person its worth posting
♬ original sound – Johnnie VIBES
“The caller ID said ‘Wells Fargo’ so I answered it,” Vibes told his viewers, describing why he picked up the phone. “It was a very professional-sounding man.”
Vibes says the man on the phone told him he was calling to verify some suspicious activity on Vibes’ Wells Fargo card.
“I said, I’ve actually been scammed like this before so let me Google your phone number to make sure it’s actually Wells Fargo,” he says he told the caller.
Vibes says that the number he Googled did match the one on his caller ID. The caller then listed off several charges he claimed were incurred by Vibes’ card in Miami. He then told Vibes he would need to set up a new card.
“He goes, ‘I’m going to send you a verification code to your phone to verify your identity,” Vibes says. He claims that he received the code but then refused to share it with the caller.
“There’s no way I’m going to share this code with someone that called me on the phone,” he says he told the man.
“All I heard was ‘click’ and he just hung up immediately,” Vibes says.
Though Vibes managed to avoid getting his account hacked he warns others that the scam was very well executed and that others could easily fall for it.
“They actually spoofed the actual Wells Fargo phone number,” he tells his viewers.
“One of the reasons this scam works so well is because what they do is, they’re actually using that verification code to add it to their Samsung Pay. So, now they’re just going to go shopping and use their phone to pay for things and because their phone is now linked to my bank account nothing is going to happen,” he says, indicating he would receive no warnings from Wells Fargo for the fraudulent purchases.
“Always hang up. And call the number you have on file. Don’t trust anyone anyone who calls you first,” viewer msamps (@msamps) warned others in the video’s comments.
Another viewer admitted, “I was almost convinced until he said we need to reset your password.”
“Same here. The guy got mad when I refused everything. I told him I will wait to get something in the mail which made him even more mad,” another wrote.
And one commenter stated that the problem could be solved by following Gen Y protocols.
“You just need to be part of the generation that doesn’t answer phone calls.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Vibes through his website for further comment.