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I saw a comment posted under an Instagram picture & it said " I will deposit this much amount of money into your bank account call or text me for information" so I messaged this person and his name is John. I don't know where he lives I just have a number. He said he would need my first and last name and my online banking information not my date of birth, SSN, Address, Bank Address, Routing number, or checking account number. I don't know if it's a scam because all they want is my name and online banking username and password.

So my question is if it is a scam or could he really be wanting to put money into my account? Oh yeah, he also said they'll send it through my account and I'll send half of it BACK through money gram or western union.

No I haven't given him any of my information.

user17915
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Nakia J
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    Basic principle: If you are wondering whether something is a scam... it almost certainly is. If anyone wants your password for anything and can not prove they are already supposed to have it, it's definitely a scam. If anyone wants you to help them move money, it's a scam. If you find it in a random place on the Internet, it's a scam. *Read past answers.* – keshlam Oct 10 '16 at 03:39
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    Another "is this a scam question" .... just think of this way (I'm sure you can). Would your bank representative post on Instagram what is your banking information? – NuWin Oct 10 '16 at 06:16
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    "I don't know if it's a scam because all they want is my name and online banking username and password. " Come on dude really? – NooBskie Oct 10 '16 at 07:47
  • @NuWin: That's kinda what makes me wary that there are banks that require my e-mail address to open an account. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I've never received something weird from my bank via snail mail, yet when I get an e-mail I instantly assume it's malicious. – Joey Oct 10 '16 at 07:57
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    They "only" want the username and password? With that they can access your account, try to transfer money wherever they like, reset your address to lock you out, impersonate you with the bank, use your identity to open other accounts... You might as well give them the keys to your front door. – IMSoP Oct 10 '16 at 08:53
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    Username is supposed to be known to you and the bank. Password is supposed to be known to you and nobody else. – Agent_L Oct 10 '16 at 09:34
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    Damn you hot network questions list! – Dmitry Grigoryev Oct 10 '16 at 09:40
  • If its any solid bank it has 2FA, and sms validation uppon making any money movements... I can give out my acc:pass but they need my cellphone as well. Anyway shame on you (OP) that you even think about it not beeing a scam. (Dont get me wrong ASK if you are unsure) – Kyslik Oct 10 '16 at 10:06
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    "... all they want is my name and online banking username and password" there's the answer right there – user17915 Oct 10 '16 at 10:13
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    The most obvious point to me is that in any online banking I have used the online banking username/password is absolutely useless for paying money into your account. The best it can do is get you the necessary account details (that they have said they don't want) to then use a different method to pay into your account. Also in general anybody asking you for a password ever is probably a scammer (or an idiot). – Chris Oct 10 '16 at 10:13
  • "I don't know if it's a scam because all they want is my name and online banking username and password." LOL! What, they're going to log on as you and then...transfer money in from another account? – bye Oct 10 '16 at 12:14
  • @NakiaJ: Question just got closed so I could not answer. Do not do it! It is a know scam. First you will get money into your account, and you will get to keep half of it. You will also get a visit by the police and probably a sentence for handling stolen goods. The John person is a criminal who needs to get stolen money to him without trace and you are the mule. You will get caught and get jail time (and lose the money), and John will get an untraceable wire transfer through western union. Quite a few people in Denmark have fallen for it and are now serving time or have a mark on their record. – bjarkef Oct 11 '16 at 07:43
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    This scam is straightforward: He deposits money in your account, you send half of it back via untraceable Western Union, and then your bank discovers the original deposit was fraudulent and withdraws it -- but you can't, in turn, recall the Western Union transfer. Net result: you're out an amount equal to the half the original deposit, and he's richer by the same amount. – Mark Oct 12 '16 at 01:59

5 Answers5

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I can't imagine any scenario under which this wouldn't be a scam, and frankly I'm a bit surprised to be talking about it once again.

Any time someone you don't know and who doesn't know you wants to give you money for no good reason and asks you to provide personal information and bank info, there should be enough alarms going off for a five-alarm fire.

Worse still this guy wants you to send half the money back to him. One simple question: WHY??? For what reason would they want you to send anything back? Why not just send you the money he wants you to have and keep the rest for himself?

For heaven's sake, don't fall for this. Stay away from the whole mess and save yourself a bunch of grief.

Daniel Anderson
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  • Okay thank you. Yes I was very skeptical that's why I sent a message. But I thought they need your SSN, DOB, ADDRESS, ROUTING # & ACCOUNT #. And he didn't ask for none of that... – Nakia J Oct 10 '16 at 03:21
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    If you give up your online banking info, everything else can be learned from it, such as your address and other personal info. After all, that's part of your account record, right? Why ask you for it when they can just learn it from signing into your account? – Daniel Anderson Oct 10 '16 at 03:32
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    Great point. Thank you for giving me some knowledge on this now I can try to help other people. – Nakia J Oct 10 '16 at 03:46
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    So... five alarms then? – OrangeDog Oct 10 '16 at 08:39
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    @OrangeDog At the risk of spoiling the joke, but to save those who aren't aware of the idiom some searching: it's a reference to the multiple-alarm fire response framework that's used in the US. Every fire starts as a 1st alarm with more severe incidents being escalated to a higher level alarm, each level adding additional personnel or equipment up to a typical maximum of five. – Lilienthal Oct 10 '16 at 09:09
  • Gotta love it, OrangeDog...priceless! ROFLMAO on a Monday morning! Upvote for that, just because it struck me as so funny, although I do sometimes take for granted people understand the context of what I write. Thanks for clarifying and injecting a bit of humor into my day! – Daniel Anderson Oct 10 '16 at 14:29
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Yes, it is a scam. There is no doubt about it. Never give your bank password to anyone, especially strangers. You will lose your money if you fall for this.

Ben Miller
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He said he would need my first and last name and my online banking information not my date of birth, SSN, Address, Bank Address, Routing number, or checking account number

This is a scam. No one needs online Banking User name and password. If you have already given this info, close your account and disable internet banking.

not my date of birth, SSN, Address,

Giving your date of birth and SSN is also dangerous.

So my question for you is it a scam or could he really be wanting to put money into my account? Oh yeah and also he said they'll send it through my account I'll send half BACK through money gram or western union.

There is no legit reason for doing this. This is 100% scam, one would only loose money.

Just walk away before any damage can be done

Dheer
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  • Ther are some situations where your username is public or can be released, never your password. I can't think of a situation where someone outside the bank would need your even your username for online banking in a well-designed system; anyone in the bank wouldn;t ask for your password. – Chris H Oct 10 '16 at 12:38
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Short answer: Yes this is a scam.

I see three different possibilities how they get you. I will rank them from "best" to worst

  1. Scammer A sends 100$ to you. You then follow his instructions and send back 50$ through WU (this is untraceable). He then contacts his bank and tells them he never intended to send that 100$ to you, then bank will then reverse that transaction and give him back his money, leaving you 50$ short.

  2. Scammer A hacks or scams innocent person B and either sends B:s money to you or tricks person B to do it. When person B reports this to the police it will look like you were behind the whole thing. The transaction will be reversed leaving you 50$ short and with unwanted police attention (see this article for an extreme example: https://www.wired.com/2015/10/online-dating-made-woman-pawn-global-crime-plot/)

  3. The nice person A wants to send money to a criminal syndicate or terrorist organization but don't want to be associated with it. Leaving you 50$ up (hurray) and possibly on a bunch of terrorist watch lists (ouch!).

The extra info you provide wouldn't be necessary for any of these scams but I guess it could be nice to have for some regular identity theft.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all that the scammers could do. It's just a short list to show you how dangerous it would be to play along.

To state the obvious, don't walk from this person, RUN!

Magnus Lundberg
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They want my online banking username and password.

I don't know if it's a scam.

It can't be any more obvious than that. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER give your online banking password to ANYONE. Not your lawyer, not your bank's local branch manager, not your best friend, not your wife, not your mother, and certainly not some random person on the street/Facebook/the Internet.

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walen
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