Attorney General Mike Hilgers says bank scams are on the rise, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting a tenfold increase in bank scams in the last three years.
In a news release, the Attorney General's office says scams usually begin as fake emails or text messages from a legitimate-sounding financial institution.
The messages may give a security warning or fraud alert that sounds like a time-sensitive emergency.
If you respond by opening the email or clicking on the link, you may be connected to a fake website or fake bank representative.
The scammers will ask you for personal information, account numbers, passwords, or PINs.
Once that happens, scammers would have access to steal your money from your account or impersonate you for other financial transactions.
The Attorney General says:
- Know that your bank will never ask you to provide or confirm personal details or confidential information via text or email.
- Look for red flags like strange formatting, typos, incorrect grammar or spelling.
- Be wary of messages that provide links, email addresses, or phone numbers that ask you to click or respond.
- Finally, do not respond to any message claiming to be from a bank that you don’t use.
When in doubt, contact your bank directly, and don’t use the contact information provided to you by the scammer.
Make sure to inform your bank immediately if you have been scammed,and be certain to change the password and PIN.
(Picture from Getty Images)