TEXT SCAMS

The holidays are a time for sharing but one thing you should never share is your personal financial information.  Text scams are not new, but our community is seeing a lot more of them in anticipation of the holiday season.  Scammers vary their message, instructions, and website links but one thing they all have in common is creating a sense of urgency to try and get consumers to react immediately.

In a recent scam, fraudsters are sending text message alerts about a “problem” transaction with an online link.  The link looks like an online banking page, but once information is entered, the scammers have access to your bank account.  They are targeting different kinds of transactions including unrecognized charges, attempted charges and new device warnings just to name a few.

To protect yourself and your personal financial information, follow these tips:

• Never give out your information. Your bank will not email, text or call you asking for confidential information.  When in doubt, call your local bank.
• If you’re not sure, don’t click. If a message contains information and/or a link that seems unfamiliar, do not click on it.
• Do not download any attachments in the message. It could contain viruses, worms, or spyware.
• Do not click on any links that appear in the message. Links in phishing messages direct you to fraudulent websites.
• Do not reply to sender. Ignore requests and do not call any phone numbers in the message.
• Never share your account number, debit card number, personal identification number (PIN), or two authentication factor code. Scammers use this information to get into your bank account.

As your community bank, we are here to help protect you.  If you think you’ve been the victim of a scam and may have provided personal or important financial information, contact your local bank immediately.