Beware of Imposter Scams—Here's What to Look For | Guiding You Forward

Welcome to the Guiding You Forward podcast studio. This is an episode that everyone should watch. We’re talking with fraud expert (and snappy dresser!) Rob Woellhaf. As the vice president of fraud management at Mountain America Credit Union, Rob has a unique insight into the unsettling ways scammers are targeting people to get access to their accounts.

Tune in and you’ll learn about:

• The phone support scam.
• The financial institution representative scam.
• Additional red flags to watch out for.

Many large companies—like Amazon, Google and Microsoft—don’t publish a direct phone number for tech or customer support. In a phone support scam, fraudsters take advantage of this by planting fake numbers on the internet, and then wait for unsuspecting people to call in.

Rob dives into how the fraudsters manipulate the situation to make you think you owe them money—and many people happily pay it! Why? Find out more in our podcast video.

Another popular imposter scam involves fraudsters sending out a blast text to phone numbers they acquire online—through legitimate sources or on the dark web. They then pretend to be a representative from your financial institution alerting you of suspicious activity on your account.

Watch the full video above to learn what happens next and how to stay safe.

Scammers may be good at their jobs, but they aren't foolproof! In possibly the most critical part of this podcast episode, Rob offers some instant red flags when it comes to recognizing a scammer. Be sure to share these tells with your friends and family members.

One last thing to remember—the onus to verify someone’s identity is always on the person who initiated the call. So, if you call in to Mountain America, we will ask identifying questions to confirm we are talking with the actual member. The same would happen if you had left a message and we returned your call. However, if you get a call from us that you're not expecting, we are the ones that will provide information to you to confirm that we are who we say we are.

Take a look at some additional ways you can protect yourself.