Minnesota
Phone scams claiming bank affiliation on the rise in Minnesota
Phone scams involving banks on the rise
Receiving calls and texts from people claiming to be from banks are on the rise in Minnesota, with authorities trying to warn people not to fall victim to them.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – You’ve no doubt had a run-in with them — Scammers bombarding your phone with texts and calls, often pretending to be someone they are not in an effort to steal your information and your money.
“We’ve gotten the same fake customer service call multiple times in a matter of days. The caller ID said ‘Wells Fargo’ and the number was their actual customer service, so at first, it seemed legit. But red flags soon appeared,” one potential victim familiar with the scam told FOX 9. “In order to stop a fraudulent transfer on our account, they claimed we needed to send another Zelle transfer to what they called a ‘cancelation number’, which was another phone number.”
“It’s social engineering… it’s convincing something to do something that’s maybe not in their best interest,” explained Mark Lanterman, a cybersecurity expert.
Lanterman notes that it’s easier for criminals to hack a person than a computer. These calls aren’t about stealing bank information directly — they convince people to send money using a sense of urgency.
“There’s something wrong and you need to act on it right now or else, and I’m going to help you with this,” a scammer might claim, creating a false sense of urgency to manipulate the victim.
Wells Fargo has clear warnings online about such tactics, emphasizing the importance of ignoring requests to send payment to solve a problem — they will never ask for this.
“You can use an online service for pennies per phone call in order to fake caller ID,” Lanterman said, highlighting how easy it is for scammers to mislead victims.
If you receive any suspicious call, the best response is simple and cautious: “Say thank you and say I’ll call you back.”
Then call back using the phone number that’s on the back of your card or the phone number that’s actually on your banking statement.
A beloved ocelot named Rio is celebrating an incredible milestone at the Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota — her 27th birthday! This stunning medium-sized wildcat is known for her gorgeous spotted coat and distinctive ring-patterned tail. Tammy Thies, founder and executive director of the Wildcat Sanctuary, joined Minnesota Live to share more about Rio’s remarkable life. Learn more here.
Meteorological summer kicks off June 1 and lasts through August. So, is the heat here to stay in Minnesota?
With temperatures near 90 lately, summer is on everyone’s mind. The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center says it’s a toss-up when it comes to temperatures over the three-month season.
“We’re going into an El Niño, and probably a very strong one, or a super El Niño, as they say,” said Pete Boulay, a climatologist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “And looking at past history, might be a cooler-than-normal summer. But we’ll have to wait and see what happens. If you stay dry, it’s going to be hard to stay cool.”
And no doubt, Minnesota has been dry already with drought conditions persisting across northern and southwestern parts of the state.
“Most places in the state are about 1-3 inches short of normal for May, and right about this time of year, we should get about an inch of rain a week,” Boulay said. “Every time we don’t get that rain, every week that goes by, the drought will come back.”
The summer outlook says it is more likely that conditions remain drier than average through August. Though we’re past the majority of Minnesota’s wildfire season, Boulay said if conditions are right, that could create elevated fire threats, unless you’re lucky enough to see some rain.
“We’re in that kind of lazy pattern right now. There’s a high pressure off to our east, and we have kind of the return flow coming out of the south, so warm, and you know, you still might have one of those thunderstorms pop up very isolated, but maybe you’ll get lucky and get one, but most people won’t,” he said.
Boulay said he doesn’t see any change in sight in the short-term with more heat on the way to kick off June.
Summer warmth will hang on in the Twin Cities Wednesday, with some storms possible later in the day.
Highs will be in the upper 80s to near 90. Isolated thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon and evening, mainly across southern Minnesota.
Thursday will be dry, warm and less humid, though highs will stay well above normal.
Friday will bring pleasant late-May weather with sunshine and highs mainly in the 80s.
The weekend looks to be quiet and comfortable as dry conditions continue.
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