Was I A Victim of a Cyber Attack?

Introduction

You have just taken out a loan and went on the vacation of your dreams where you treated yourself to an extravagant shopping spree! Only there is one problem–that wasn't you. You comb through your bank statement in utter shock as you see rows and rows of fraudulent transactions in your name. Emotions are running high and thinking of the next steps can be tough when your thoughts are scattered. This could very well be a recipe for disaster, but you are not burnt toast just yet! Let's cook up a solution together.

Nutritional Values

If the list below includes anything related to your situation, then we can get the ingredients ready:

• Unapproved loan
• Credit/debit card fraud
• Bank information stolen
• Wire transfer funds
• Check fraud
• Stolen account

Ingredients

The list for success includes:

• Your bank's phone number
• Email or text history
• Date of transaction
• Your account information

Cooking Steps

1. Call your bank immediately. You can search for "<bank name> customer support" in your browser. For example, "Chase Bank customer support". As of January 2026, Synchrony Bank saw an increase in impersonation, phishing scams, and suspicious emails. Customers have seen login issues, unapproved loans, fraudulent charges, and more.
2. Change your passwords. Update your bank, email, Apple/Microsoft, and other relevant account passwords. There is potential that your passwords were exposed.
3. Review your social media accounts. This includes TikTok, WeChat, Instagram, Facebook, and others. Ensure that your accounts were not potentially compromised. If anything looks suspicious, go back to step 2 and change your passwords again.
4. Check your account again in 24–72 hours. Make sure the fraud was processed and your funds were returned.
5. Optional: Prepare your ingredients of email/text history, date of transaction, and account information. If you potentially had your identity stolen, the history of fraud will be needed for the next emergency step.
6. Optional emergency step: If you believe this was identity fraud, visit the Social Security Administration site and start a report. Your list of ingredients from the previous step will be needed.

Bon Appétit

Let us know if this recipe did not resolve the issue at hand. Let's cook together and figure out what other ingredients we can add to Cyber Fraud and Unapproved Loan!