Cybercrime is taking a growing financial toll on Texans, with scammers using increasingly sophisticated tactics to convince victims they are dealing with someone they know and trust.
According to the FBI, Texas was one of the states hit hardest by cybercrime in 2025, ranking second nationally in both reported complaints and financial losses. Nearly 98,000 complaints were reported in Texas, with losses totaling more than$1.8 billion. Losses approached $20 billion nationwide.
Kris Edwards heads the fraud prevention department at Fifth Third Bank and told us that one of the most common schemes his team is seeing involves scammers impersonating banks.
A victim may receive a phone call that appears on caller ID to be coming directly from their bank. The caller claims there has been fraud on the account and warns that immediate action is necessary to protect the victim's money.
What makes the scheme particularly convincing is that scammers may already know personal information about their target, including where they bank or what types of accounts they have. They use that information to persuade the victim to provide an account number, username, password or other credentials.
"They're always going to create a sense of urgency," Edwards says.
While the victim believes they are securing an account, they may actually be giving the scammer exactly what is needed to steal their money.
Another increasingly troubling example involves scammers targeting older adults by pretending a family member is in trouble.
Edwards described the case of a 93-year-old woman in Cincinnati who received a call claiming her grandson had been arrested and needed $10,000 in cash for bail. The woman didn't have a car, so the scammers offered to come pick her up and take her to the bank, where they could help her withdraw the money.
It was for them a successful mission, leaving behind yet another cyber scamming victim.
Edwards says pressure to make an immediate decision should be a major warning sign, as are requests to withdraw large amounts of cash, wire money or use cryptocurrency or crypto ATMs. Those methods are particularly attractive to scammers, because the money can be difficult to trace or recover once it leaves the account.
Scammers may also tell victims to keep the transaction secret or even instruct them to lie to bank employees about why they are withdrawing money. Edwards says bank employees are trained to recognize potential fraud, so scammers may tell a victim to say the money is for home improvements rather than admitting they were told to withdraw it to help a relative in trouble.
How to protect yourself
First, slow down. A demand to act immediately is often designed to prevent you from verifying the story. If someone claims to be calling from your bank, don't rely on the caller ID or information provided by the caller. Contact your bank yourself using a number you know is legitimate or visit a branch in person.
And if someone asks you to move money using cash, cryptocurrency, a wire transfer or another difficult-to-reverse method, treat it as a warning sign.
Maintaining a relationship with your bank can also help. When something doesn't seem right, talking directly with someone you trust at the bank can help distinguish between legitimate banking issues and a scam.
To listen to this interview in its entirety, click the 'listen' button above.
Miranda Suarez and Ron Corning are the hosts of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org or Ron at rcorning@kera.org.
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