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Scammers are sending text messages where they pose as your bank. Here's what you should know

Posted at 12:10 PM, Oct 30, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-30 13:58:59-04

Scammers are now finding victims through text message.

The Better Business Bureau says tech scams still make up a fairly small number of all reported scams, but they are on the rise.

The BBB says scammers are getting smarter and they're sending people texts that appear to come from their bank and they'll say they've found a fraudulent transaction on your account and ask if it was you.

You'll likely say "no" because that transaction never happened.

So then they'll ask you for your personal information to fix it. The BBB says don't be so quick to hand it over.

"When someone reaches out to you — whether it's by phone, by text message, on social media or email — when someone reaches out to you, that's when you need to be especially cautious and not share personal information," says Katherine Hutt with the BBB.

If you believe there may be a concern about your bank account, you should be the person issuing the call. The BBB says you can find your bank's phone number from the back of your card.

Also, getting a gift card in the mail sounds great, but if it comes from someone named "Jenny B" you need to be careful. The BBB is warning that these gift cards and coupons for baby and motherhood items are coming in envelopes with no return labels.

The BBB thinks that "Jenny B" is Jeanette Pierce, the owner of Mother's Lounge, LLC and other online businesses. People who have bought things from these websites say the products were lower quality than they expected.