Banks do send real fraud-alert texts, which makes fake bank texts especially convincing. The safest response is to verify through your bank’s app or the number on your card, not through the link or phone number in the text.
Does this affect you?
Use this for texts claiming to come from any U.S. bank or credit union about suspicious charges, locked accounts, fraud alerts, transfers, or identity verification.
Check the text before clicking, replying with details, or calling
Do this even if the message includes a plausible transaction or the correct last four digits of a card.
- Do not tap a login link in a bank text. Real fraud alerts may ask for a simple yes or no, or tell you to open the official app, but they do not need you to sign in through a text link.
- Do not call a number included in the text. Use the number on the back of your card, a statement, or the official banking app.
- Never reply with a full card number, PIN, online banking password, Social Security number, or one-time verification code. A real bank does not need those by text.
- Notice missing or generic details, but do not rely on that alone. Scammers sometimes have breached data and may include your name or card digits.
- Open the bank app separately or type the bank website yourself. If the alert is real, you should see it inside the secure account area or by calling the real number.
What to do if you already clicked, replied, or called
Move quickly if credentials, codes, or card details were exposed.
- If you entered online banking credentials, open the real bank app or website and change the password immediately.
- If you gave a one-time verification code, call the bank from the real number and report possible account takeover.
- If you shared a full card number or PIN, ask the bank to freeze the card and issue a replacement.
- Review recent transactions, new payees, transfers, and contact details. Ask the bank to open a fraud investigation if anything looks wrong.
- Forward the text to 7726, which reports spam to your mobile carrier, and file a report at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
More control
Learn your bank’s real alert style
Once you know the short code, wording, and app behavior your bank normally uses, fake messages are easier to spot.
Push notifications are harder to spoof
Enable alerts inside the official banking app when available. App notifications give you a more trusted channel than random SMS messages.
Moderate amounts can still be fake
Scammers often choose believable dollar amounts instead of huge charges. Urgency and the requested action matter more than the amount shown.
Sources
- FTC Consumer Advice – How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams (2025)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Recognizing and Avoiding Bank Impersonation Scams (2025)
- FBI – Smishing SMS Phishing Alerts (2025)