Many people received confusing and worrying text messages this week, seemingly from Citizens Bank. The messages, often arriving from the 6-digit number “63776,” warned recipients about overdrawn accounts or mentioned rebated fees. This short code is genuinely used by Citizens Bank for communications like verification codes, which added to the initial puzzle.
The alert specifically mentioned a “Quest Checking Account” being overdrawn. However, the messages reached a wide audience, including individuals who bank with Citizens but don’t have that specific account type. More surprisingly, people who aren’t Citizens Bank customers at all also received these texts. Naturally, this left many people scrambling to Reddit and platforms like X to seek more information about it.
One user, DamnThatsCrazyYo, posted on the r/Scams subreddit, “Got a text saying that my Citizens Bank Quest Checking Account has been overdrawn. Only problem is that, while I use Citizens Bank, I don’t have a Quest checking account.” They noted the text came from a familiar Citizens short code but lacked any suspicious links or numbers to call.
The lack of a clear scam objective in some messages baffled recipients. Others, however, reported receiving texts that did contain links, raising immediate red flags for phishing attempts. The situation left many wondering if it was an elaborate scam or an internal bank error. User TheStayFawn commented, “I got one of these. Later today, I got an email stating that the message was sent in error. Fun thing is, I don’t bank with them, so how do they know my phone number and email?”
Citizens Bank eventually confirmed it was their mistake. Customers reported seeing a banner on the bank’s website acknowledging an issue (I wasn’t able to see this on the site). The bank also responded to inquiries on social media platform X, stating, “We experienced some technical issues impacting our SMS messaging and are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Some users also claimed that bank sent follow-up emails and text messages to affected individuals. These messages explicitly apologized, confirming that texts from “63776” about overdrawn accounts or rebated fees were sent incorrectly due to a technical problem with their SMS system.
So if you were wondering whether or not this “account overdrawn” text was a scam, you can rest easy knowing that it was just a mix-up with the bank’s SMS system.
Dwayne Cubbins
803 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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