It’s unfortunate, but text scams — all sorts of scams — are becoming extremely prevalent. Calls, texts, emails — scammers are constantly finding new ways to try and disorient people into unveiling compromising information.

And what’s particularly unnerving, is that scammers often pretend to be from organizations that you know. They’ll use names from government entities like the IRS or Social Security, they’ll say they’re from a charity organization, a utility company — even your bank — and they have the technology to change numbers and caller ID information.

Customers often don’t question turning over confidential information when they think they’re talking with one of their most trusted organizations, such as their bank. So there are a few things we’d like to make sure our customers know, and that’s when, why, and how we will text you.

While you might get a message with a one-time passcode to log into your account, or a yes or no question about a recent transaction, we will never follow up with a text request for your account number or password. And we will never ask you to wire us money to keep your account active.

The widespread use of text scams sounds daunting, but there are some fairly simple steps to take to ensure you don’t succumb to these ever-so-common ploys.

Let’s take a look at the red flags…

If there’s a problem or a prize

It’s prevalent these days — the ‘your bank has been compromised!’ text. Wintrust’s SVP and Director of Fraud Management, Ray Olsen, wants everyone to hear this message: If you get a text that looks like this, don’t answer — delete it.

“Is the bank going to text you that they have been compromised? No, you’re going to find out on CNN, or you’ll get a letter, a legal letter.  Fraud teams aren’t going to advise you to withdraw money and make a gift card purchase,” says Olsen.

He explains that if you’re ever concerned by a text message you receive, the best thing to do is to contact your bank directly or walk into your local branch.

And the same goes for prizes. While we love our customers, we aren’t awarding them with gift money. You can enter a sweepstake and win tickets or gear, etc., but we won’t be wiring you money because you’re the lucky checking account customer of the day. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

If there’s a specific way to pay

Think gift card and money transfers, bitcoin ATMS… There should never be a reason you need to use a gift card to buy anything. If someone’s insisting you need to buy a gift card to pay them, something’s off. Gift cards are for birthdays and baby showers — not for paying overdraft fees or unlocking your account.

The same goes for money transfers. We will not text you to tell you to withdraw or transfer your money from your investment accounts. 

If you’re being rushed

When the sense of urgency seems off, listen to your gut. Scammers intentionally try to rush (and fluster) you so that you act quickly and without thinking things through.

Wintrust will never contact you to put you in a high-pressure situation. Our goal is always to help customers, not hurry them.  

If they’re asking for your account numbers or passwords

“We gave you the account number so we don’t need to ask you for it,” says Olsen. He continues to explain that when the bank reaches out to you, they have all of your information pulled up. If you call the bank, they will ask a question to confirm your identity but it won’t be to read off your account numbers and passwords. 

If you’re ever unsure of who is on the other line, the best thing to do is hang up and call your branch directly. Ray welcomes being hung up on over a customer potentially being scammed. “It’s okay to hang up on us — it’s fine. We get hung up on all the time,” he exclaims. Scammers are playing to your emotions. We can assure you we don’t mind if you call us back directly.

What starts as something that looks like a fairly innocuous text can quickly turn into an attempt to have you click on a link, wire money, or get you on the phone to uncover compromising information.

Maybe you received a message and replied with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and now the scammer thinks they have you hooked. That’s okay, you haven’t given away any of the confidential credentials they’re looking for. Stop the scam in its tracks by not responding. 

The bottom line

If you receive a text that seems suspicious in any way, just delete it and call your local branch if you’re concerned. Never click on any hyperlinks from text messages, and if you do happen to respond to a text and find yourself in a snowballing situation, the best thing to do is to stop immediately.

Wintrust will only call if we see suspicious activity on your account and we will identify ourselves by one name only: The Wintrust Enterprise Fraud Management Team. We will not ask you for your account number and password. And if you’re ever unsure for any reason who is on the other line, hang up and call your bank directly. If need be, they will put you back in touch with us to handle any fraudulent activity that may have occurred on your account. You can also contact us directly at 877-279-1300 if you think you’ve been a victim of fraud.

Just remember, we’re more than happy to be hung up on and we never want to rush you.