Multiple Regions bank account holders in McMinnville and other places in Tennessee have been reporting fraudulent charges from Roblox, an online video game. Reports across various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Reddit beginning last Friday, suggest the issue is affecting Warren County locals as well as Regions account holders in Tennessee and out-of-state. Regions Bank's social media shared two separate posts Monday with generic advice related to protecting from scams and fraud but as of press time there was no official statement.
The posts explained the difference between phishing (using a counterfeit email purporting to come from a trusted company or other sources to steal personal information), smishing (doing the same via an SMS text message) and vishing (the same virtual attack tactic performed via voice over a phone call). As for now, however, no official announcement about the continuing issue has been disseminated to customers to warn them. An associate with Regions Bank at 1035 Smithville Hwy confirmed that there have been reports of Roblox-related fraud affecting account holders, including those who do not have kids and have never downloaded the Roblox app or played the game.
The first few days posts were shared online, many people’s response was to joke about how “the scammer is your kid” and advised to “take the tablet away from your kid” to cause the unauthorized charges to stop. McMinnville native, Chase Maggard, was told that one thing many of those affected had in common was that they had a child or grandchild who played Roblox, but multiple people complaining said they don’t have children or grandchildren and have never played the game.
“I played the game momentarily a few years ago and it’s just now affecting me? Pretty suspicious,” Maggard noted.
Jeremy D. King, a spokesman with Regions Financial Corp confirmed that Regions is aware of the issue and offered some advice for Regions customers concerned about being affected:
“Regions takes a 24/7 approach to fraud prevention and customer protection. In recent days, our internal monitoring discovered fraudsters were attempting to use a popular online gaming platform to make unauthorized card transactions.
“We have further increased our monitoring around this type of fraud to reduce the risk of more unauthorized transactions. Our goal is to help prevent more people from becoming victims. Our investigation also indicates this event is not unique to Regions-issued cards and can involve debit or credit cards issued by a number of sources. Anyone who feels they may be a victim of this or any other card fraud should alert their card issuer as quickly as possible. In the meantime, remember to always monitor your account activity. If you notice something out of the ordinary, give your card issuer a call. Taking the time to monitor your account and to recognize red flags increases the likelihood of preventing losses, protecting your account, and stopping fraudsters in their tracks.”
