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A Scammer Can Wreak Havoc With Your Online Banking Account Number

January 19, 2026

Most people know to protect their Social Security number, debit card PIN, or online banking password. But many don’t realize that something far more ordinary—your bank account number—can also be a goldmine for scammers. It may not seem sensitive at first glance (after all, it’s printed on every check), but in the wrong hands, it can lead to serious financial trouble.

Cybercriminals can use your bank account number to attempt unauthorized withdrawals, especially through ACH transfers. These electronic payments are commonly used for direct deposits, bill pay, and online purchases. Fraudsters who get hold of your account and routing numbers can try to pull money out by posing as a business or vendor. Routing numbers are not difficult to find, and a clever scammer can easily access them.

While banks often catch suspicious activity, scammers know that many people don’t check their accounts daily, giving them time to slip transactions through, especially smaller transactions that may not trigger your charge notifications.

Account numbers can also be used in identity verification scams. Criminals may combine your bank account number with other stolen data to impersonate you with financial institutions, open accounts in your name, create phony checks, or reroute legitimate payments. And for businesses, exposed account numbers can lead thieves to create fake invoices or initiate unauthorized debits disguised as routine expenses.

Even if a scammer can't directly empty your account, they can still cause costly headaches by triggering fraudulent transactions, freezing your funds during investigations, or using your information to launch broader identity theft.

The takeaway? Treat your bank account number like any other sensitive financial detail. Share it only when absolutely necessary, monitor your accounts regularly, and report any suspicious activity immediately. Don’t forget to take advantage of enabling notifications for charges over a certain amount. Consider making it below $100 and add some cents on it to make it out of the ordinary. Then you can react right away when you see that notification appear.

And if we’ve mentioned it once, we’ve said a bazillion times. Be sure to enable multi-factor authentication on all financial accounts.


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