So, I just received an email and text message that I had opened a savings account with a major bank I have never previously used. I didn’t open any links on the texts or email. I went to the major bank’s website directly from Google and called their fraud department. They confirmed there was an account under my name and closed it. I am filing a fraud report with the credit bureaus. I always have my credit frozen.
What is the scam here? What could some one do with a savings account linked to both my email and number?
In: 53
It’s most likely the case that a criminal set up an account in someone else’s name so they could run cash through it to make it harder to trace the origin of the funds. This is called layering.
If a criminal is going to use an account for layering, they probably prefer it to be in someone else’s name rather than their own.
Cheque fraud is a lot less common than money laundering. Consider the number of dirty dollars obtained consentingly through drug deals etc versus the number of dollars that are stolen. There’s just more money to be laundered than stolen
Source: have worked in banks, we received quarterly training on spotting and reporting suspicious activity
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