ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Advantage Federal Credit Union says they started noticing a new twist on financial scams targeting customers over the age of 60 at the beginning of the month. The scammers are deceiving customers by using the real phone number of the bank.

Nihada Donohew, VP of Branch Administration at Advantage Federal Credit Union, explains how the scam works:

“So a customer receives a phone call and says ‘Hey, this is your financial institution. We notice there is fraud on your account.'”

Donohew says the scammers claim they’re with the bank and even the number showing up on caller ID is the bank’s number.

“In turn the customer thinks they are talking to the actual financial institution and provides the code back to the fraudster,” Donohew said.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “And that’s an example of something that is actually happening.”

Nihada Donohew: “Uh huh.”

AARP says $28 billion is stolen from Americans over 60 every year. This week, the head of fraud prevention at Lifespan warned dozens of people about the frauds they face.

Berkeley Brean: “When you do these presentations, what shocks you?”

Dan Lyon, fraud and scam program manager, Lifespan: “The people who walk up to me afterwards as you saw here today and quietly whisper in my ear, ‘that happened to me.'”

Nihada Donohew: “The key to stopping it is actually the consumer being alert and not providing that information to anyone.”

If you get one of these calls, hang up and call your bank. Don’t hit the number on your phone because that could connect you with the scammers again. Actually dial the number to your bank.

If you’ve been hacked, contact police and then call Lifespan. The state office that helps victims can give you $100 for every fraudulent transaction against you. Lifespan can help you with that process.

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