Channel 4 reporter targeted in scam

President of Northeast Florida BBB warns anyone with a check card is at risk

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A scam that preys on anyone with a check card is making the rounds here in North Florida. It starts with an automated phone call that claims your check card has been compromised. According to Tom Stephens, President of the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Florida, that should be your first clue!

"These types of robo-calls are against the law. If you get one claiming to be from a bank, you can guarantee it's a scam," said Stephens.

During the automated call, the voice asks for you to key in your check card number, zip code, expiration date and three digit code on the back of the card. If you key in that information, you're making it easy for anyone to gain access to your back account.

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If your credit or debit card has truly been compromised, Stephens said that you will get a call from your financial institution, but you will be connected to an actual person, not a computer.

"Yeah, it's a good scam," Stephens said. "And it works one or two percent of the time. Because robo-calls are cheap and they can make tens of thousands of them in a day, if they make one or two or three percent of them successful, then they've made money off of the deal. It's a money making venture."

Channel 4's Nikki Kimbleton received one of these calls and realized right away that it was bogus.

"First of all, I don't bank with Wells Fargo, the bank name they used. Then, when the automated voice asked me to key in my check card number, I knew for sure they were just trying to get my information," said Kimbleton.

She did a simple internet search to see if this is a common scam and found that not only is it happening a lot, they claim to be from different banks and credit unions. Several have issued alerts to customers warning them about the scam.

If you do enter your information by mistake, call your bank or credit union immediately to let them know the details of the call and the information you keyed in over the phone.