SALISBURY — Detectives are urging citizens to be careful about a new scam that is being reported where victims receive a text claiming that a bank is seeing fraudulent activity on the victim’s bank account.

Detectives with the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office have investigated multiple fraud cases involving the same scam in the past few months, according to a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office.

The scam begins with the victim receiving a text from an unknown number claiming to be a bank. That text “notifies” the victim that there has been fraudulent activity on their account and asks the victim to reply “yes” or “no” to whether or not they attempted a specific transaction. After the victim replies “no,” they are notified that a fraud investigator will be contacting them, and shortly after they receive a call from a number that appears to be their bank.

The scammer then asks the victim for account information to verify their identity so that they can move forward with the investigation. Once they have obtained the information, the scammer will then use it to obtain cashier’s checks in person or add it to an online money exchange such as Cash App or Venmo.

The scammer will then transfer the victim’s money to a separate account, which is a front for them to move the money between other accounts, according to the spokesperson. The front account makes it difficult for law enforcement to track the transactions because it will use fake information.

“After speaking with other detectives in the area, and trends around the country this scam is swiftly moving, not only in this community but also across the country,” a detective said in an email to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said that residents should be aware that banks will not contact someone via telephone and ask for full account and personal information. If they receive a text reporting fraudulent activity, residents should monitor their accounts closely, contact their bank and make certain that they are speaking with a representative of that bank.

Residents are asked to be on the lookout for similar scams that are occurring and contact law enforcement if they believe they have been a victim.