The "We Detected Fraud" Script

Flggd Scam School · Bank & Financial Institution Scams · Lesson 14 of 16

A caller says fraud has been detected and your money must be moved somewhere safe, right now, while they stay on the line. If your bank told you to move money to a safe account, stop; it didn't.

The message looks like this

Why this is a scam

There is no such thing as a safe account. If fraud were real, your bank would freeze the affected card or account itself, in seconds, from its side. It would never need you to move your own money anywhere.

The "secure holding account" belongs to the scammer or to a money mule. The moment your transfer lands, it's gone, and because you authorized it yourself, recovering it is far harder than reversing a fraudulent charge.

The stay-on-the-line offer isn't service. It's supervision, there to keep you from calling your real bank or thinking twice.

Red flags checklist

• Any request to move money to a "safe", "secure", or "holding" account.

• The caller stays on the line while you make the transfer.

• Urgency measured in minutes: your funds are at risk "right now."

• Instructions to ignore or mislead warnings your banking app shows you.

• You're told not to visit a branch or hang up.

The manipulation tactic

Panic plus supervision. Fear starts your legs moving, and the voice on the line steers, leaving no quiet moment for doubt.

What to do, and what not to do

• Never move money because a caller told you to. Banks protect accounts themselves.

• Hang up. Immediately is fine; rude is fine.

• Call the number on the back of your card and ask about your account.

• If you already transferred, call your bank's fraud line this minute; speed matters.

• Report the call at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

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