PSA: Scammers are spoofing USAA’s phone number and impersonating the fraud department

Just wanted to put this out there because this one was convincing enough that, even as someone pretty tech-savvy, I almost fell for it.

Earlier today I received a call that showed up as USAA’s actual call center number on caller ID. The caller already had my first and last name and phone number.

He claimed:

- USAA had detected fraudulent Zelle transactions and stopped them before the money transferred.

- Apple devices had recently logged into my account from Chicago and asked whether I recognized them.

- My accounts needed to be frozen.

- My online access/login information needed to be reset.

What made it particularly convincing was that he wasn’t pushy. He actually said that if we weren’t comfortable continuing with him, we could hang up and call USAA back to speak with another representative. He said the accounts would simply remain frozen in the meantime.

That little bit of apparent indifference made the whole thing sound much more legitimate.

He also gave me a first and last name and a badge number.

The red flag finally came when he asked me for my USAA Online ID/login ID. Something felt wrong to both my wife and me, so I hung up and called USAA myself using the number I already knew was legitimate.

I eventually reached USAA’s fraud department.

None of what the caller told me was true. There were no fraudulent Zelle transactions, no suspicious Chicago logins, and no account freeze. It was all part of the scam.

USAA also told me a couple of useful things afterward:

- Their representatives will not ask you for your Online ID/login ID like this.

- USAA employees do not give customers their last names, so someone giving you a full first and last name as part of their “credentials” can actually be a warning sign.

Big takeaway: Caller ID means absolutely nothing anymore. A call can literally display USAA’s real number and still be a scammer.

If “USAA” calls you unexpectedly about fraud and starts asking for login information, verification codes, passwords, or anything else that feels off, hang up and call USAA yourself using the number in the app, on your card, or on USAA’s website.

Trust your gut.

This guy sounded professional, knew enough information about me to make the call believable, and understood exactly how to avoid sounding like the stereotypical aggressive scammer. That is what made this one dangerous.

Thankfully, we hung up before giving him anything useful.

Figured I’d post this here in case it saves someone else from getting caught by the same operation.