Beware of Fraudulent Callers Posing as SouthState Bank

Keys to Remember

1. SouthState Bank will NEVER contact a customer to request sensitive information such as PINs, passwords, security codes, account numbers, a username, personal or account information.
2. SouthState does not send text messages as part of our claim initiation process for disputed charges.
3. Authorized text messages from SouthState about suspicious transactions are sent from 37-268. If you receive a text message claiming to be from SouthState with a different number, call us immediately at (800) 277-2175. Do not respond to the text.
4. Email notifications from SouthState will come from [email protected].

How the Scam Works

• A customer receives a call from a fraudster claiming to be from the SouthState Bank’s “Fraud Department”.
• The fraudster “spoofs” the phone number to make it look like it is coming from SouthState Bank, N.A. Customer Care phone Number, 1-800-277-2175.
• The purpose for the call is to alert the customer of fraudulent transactions on their debit card.  The transactions do not exist. 
• The fraudster provides the last 4 digits of the card number and notifies the customer of a refund for the false transactions.
• The fraudster enters the customer’s username into online banking and selects “Forgot Password”.
• A “Forgot Password” Secure Access Code (SAC) is sent to the customer.
• The fraudster asks for the code and the customer provides it, thus giving the fraudster access to the customer’s online banking.
• The fraudster initiates Zelle payments prompting the customer to receive an SMS message to authorize payment.
• The customer replies YES to authorize the Zelle transaction and the funds are debited from the customer’s account.

Customers can also fall prey to a newer version of this scam involving counterfeit debit cards. 

• A customer receives a text message about a potentially fraudulent debit card transaction. It appears as a valid alert to confirm whether or not the transaction should be allowed. 
• The customer then receives a phone call from a scammer posing as a SouthState employee. Caller ID indicates the call is from the phone number on the back of the customer’s debit card, however, SouthState fraud experts confirmed that the scammer is spoofing the valid phone number. 
• The scammer tells the customer to reply “yes” to the initial text message “in order to file a claim” and dispute the charge. Instead, clicking “yes” actually authorizes the transaction, allowing the scammer to make a fraudulent purchase.