Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Protection: Fighting Fraud with JPMorganChase and the NYPD

How to avoid Ghost Tapping, Cash Trapping, Skimming, Phishing, AI-Generated Personas, Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin Scams!

By Rev. Diahne Parsons

During what is the biggest spending period of the year, bank fraud investigators and police fraud department representatives have joined forces to pull back the curtain on cybersecurity, bank fraud, and AI scams. This highly profitable season is often used by merchants to make up for slim margins and lost revenue from the rest of the year. However, investigators warn that the correlation between the holiday shopping season and a surge in fraudulent criminal activity can be staggering.

New Yorkers lost over $246 million to scam artists in the past year alone. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the period leading up to Christmas and the New Year are prime targets for these criminals. With New Yorkers having lost a total of $542.9 million to fraudsters and scammers last year, it’s time to tighten a few bolts on Santa’s sleigh so they don’t steal our happy tidings, too! 

This holiday season, JPMorganChase has teamed up with the NYPD to crack down on scammers, educating and empowering the community to stay safe. As part of International Fraud Awareness Week, JPMorganChase hosted a series of workshops across the country where attendees learned how to spot scams and protect themselves. The Harlem Times was honored to be invited to a presentation, gaining access to expert insights, real-life scam stories, and viable tips. The bank has hosted over 1,000 such workshops. 

Tanisha Ritter, JPMorganChase Harlem Community Manager and a Fraud and Scam Prevention Expert, has stepped forward to lead the charge. Ms. Ritter, along with representatives from the NYPD, helped de-escalate the anxieties of fellow community members and attendees while casting a spotlight on fraud and scams by:

•Demystifying how to protect yourself and others with clear examples, such as safeguarding sensitive transactions like changes to a will, an estate, a power of attorney, or account beneficiaries.

•Advising people to spot unusual activity, such as unpaid bills, missing checkbooks, suspicious signatures, changes of address, and to proceed with caution when authorizing unexpected users to financial accounts.

•Warning about new friendships, urging caution with new friends or online relationships that push financial opportunities, request loans, or offer to handle financial tasks.

Check Fraud: A Classic Scheme Goes High-Tech

Did you know fraudsters can steal checks from your mailbox or from your mail carrier? They can use solvents to erase information and rewrite your checks, creating convincing counterfeits. When writing a check, remember to:

•Use permanent ink.

•Fill out the payee and dollar amount fields completely.

•Sign your checks the same way every time.

•Mail checks from inside the post office.

•Never leave your checkbook out in the open.

•Monitor your accounts regularly.

•Securely destroy any physical checks you have deposited digitally.

•Refrain from cashing checks from unknown sources.

Among the “Dirty Dozen” of Scams: A Closer Look

The following schemes are increasingly common methods used to part us from our funds.

1. Ghost Tapping 

This occurs when your tap-to-pay card is secretly charged without your knowledge, sometimes multiple times. The card’s chip communicates with payment terminals via NFC (Near Field Communication). If a scammer intercepts this signal, they can create unauthorized transactions. This requires the scammer’s device to be within inches of your card or phone.

How the scam works:

•A scammer with a portable, wireless payment device gets close enough to your phone or card to initiate a small, unauthorized transaction.

•In crowded areas, scammers may bump into you to get close to your wallet or phone.

•Fake vendors may pose as legitimate sellers, asking you to “tap to pay” for non-existent products or services, often overcharging you. This can happen without anyone ever touching your belongings. They set the payment amount, and poof—they are gone, along with your funds.

2. AI-Generated Personas 

This insidious maneuver involves creating entirely digital identities fashioned from artificial intelligence. These personas can look and sound human and may even be designed to mimic a loved one or trusted neighbor. Preloaded with scripts, these counterfeit people are used to message victims, present a false urgency, and scam people out of their personal information or money. The key to any scam is building trust through bait masquerading as charm or empathy. Scammers often use feigned warmth to entice victims, a tactic that has become terrifyingly advanced. Chatbots or AI models run by criminal entities can clone human voices, creating a real-world horror show.

3. Cash Trapping 

Your debit card can become the weakest link in your financial tool bag. In this scam, a device is inserted into the cash dispenser of an ATM. When you withdraw cash, it becomes locked or “trapped” in the machine. The bank’s system shows that your cash was dispensed, leaving you with no funds and a transaction record that suggests you received them.

4. Phishing or “Fake Bank Alerts” 

In this devious scheme, you receive an email or text message claiming fraud has been detected on your account. The message instructs you to “click here immediately” to verify. The unsuspecting victim clicks the link, which leads to a page with the same logo, colors, and layout appearing as if were the bank’s legitimate login page. Once you enter your username and password, the scammers have your credentials. By impersonating bank workers and committing fraud, Americans lost over $10 billion to bank fraud last year.

What to Do If You Are a Victim

•Contact your bank immediately: Report the fraudulent activity to JPMorganChase or your card issuer as soon as possible.

•Dispute the charges: Officially dispute any unauthorized transactions through your bank.

•Report the incident: File a report with the local police using their non-emergency number and ask if any other agencies need to be notified.

Other Current Fraud Trends

•Gas Station “Skimming”: 

Scammers place a Bluetooth-enabled skimmer inside a gas pump’s card reader. When you swipe your card, it transmits your card number, PIN, and security code to a fraudster nearby. In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission reported over $437 million lost to such contactless theft schemes.

•Altered or Fictitious Checks (Check Fraud)

•Account Takeovers (Identity Theft)

•Targeting Vulnerable Populations:

Scammers attempt to steal personal information like Social Security numbers to conduct fraudulent transactions, take over existing accounts, or open new ones.

Take a Stand on Crime Prevention

Empower yourself by signing up for workshops that teach you how to become your own cyber-hero. Redouble your efforts to protect the integrity of your financial well-being and personal information. Attend political action conferences on cybersecurity and advocate for policies that hold perpetrators accountable. Develop coalitions and convene with other activists. Recognize that we are not caught in an inescapable matrix of doom; we can fight back.

How to Protect Yourself

•Turn off NFC: Disable your phone’s near-field communication (NFC) or contactless payment feature when in crowded places.

•Use a protective wallet: 

Use a wallet or sleeve with RFID-blocking technology.

•Be vigilant in crowds: Keep your wallet or phone secure and be aware of people acting suspiciously.

•Verify transactions: Always confirm the vendor and amount before you tap to pay.

•Monitor your accounts: Use your bank’s app to check for suspicious activity and set up transaction alerts.

•Don’t let your card out of sight: 

Avoid situations where your card is taken away, such as at a drive-through window.

Best Practices for Specific Scams

What to do if impacted by fraud:

1. Contact your bank immediately: Report the fraudulent activity to your card issuer as soon as possible – regardless of where you bank.
2. End communications with the scammer.
3. If you are a JPMorganChase customer, visit a branch or contact Chase customer service at: 1-800-935-9935.
4. If the impacted person is elderly, call the National Elder Fraud hotline at: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).
5. Call your local police department.

Let’s make this a joyous and prosperous holiday season for all. And remember, be safe and stay diligent!