Keep yourself safe from scammers

Learn about the following scams to keep your accounts safe and secure.

Money mule scam

Scammers may ask you to receive money on their behalf via Zelle® or other payment services and may even send the money to you and claim that it was sent by mistake. They’ll ask you to send the money back to their accounts, but the payment they made to you will never clear or will be pulled back by their bank, leaving you with the loss.

• Never accept money from an unknown source or accept money for someone else. If you’ve received money from an unknown person via Zelle® or other payment services, report it to Capital One by calling the number on the back of your debit or credit card and on your statement.

Impersonation scam

Scammers will pretend to be someone trustworthy so they can ask you to provide your personal information or even transfer money. They can pose as Capital One associates, tech support or even as your electric company, all to gain unauthorized access to your account.

• Stay calm. Never feel pressured or threatened to act immediately. When in doubt, hang up the phone and call your Capital One service team directly. You may call us at the number listed on the back of your debit or credit card and bank statement.
• Be sure to turn on activity notifications in the Capital One Mobile app and report any suspicious activity as soon as possible.

Online purchase scam

Scammers are placing ads on social media marketplaces for selling goods and services. Often, these deals require customers to pay in advance. Once you pay the scammers, you won’t be able to get in touch with them again.

• Research the seller and products independently and compare prices with other websites to ensure legitimacy. When a deal or offer seems too good to be true, it usually is. If possible, refrain from transferring money to someone you don’t know.

Business email compromise

The scammer may impersonate a company executive by hacking their email ID to send you a spoofed email requesting a change in the payment destination.

• Don’t click on anything in an unsolicited email or text message asking you to update or verify account information. Look up the company’s phone number from a legitimate source—don’t use the one a potential scammer is providing—and call the company to ask if the request is authentic.
• Never send money to a merchant until you can confirm that the request to change a payment destination is legitimate, like a statement from them or a verified customer service phone number.

We’ll keep you updated as these scam techniques evolve. It’s all part of how Capital One is looking out for your financial safety every day.

Visit the Capital One Scam Education page for additional info.