COLORADO SPRINGS — If there is suspicious activity on your bank account, how does your bank let you know about it? If you don’t know the exact answer to that question you could be at risk for scammers who reach out to you pretending to be your bank.
What if you get an unexpected check in the mail claiming to be from a bank? Knowing the steps to investigate these things before taking action can prevent some expensive mistakes.
”I got this check in the mail from a bank I’ve never had anything to do with. It’s about a prepaid card I’ve never had in my life and I thought this is just not right,” said News5 viewer Deb Howard.
She says when she followed up on the check with the bank that supposedly sent it, she was even more frustrated.
”He wanted how I spelled my name which is fine, my address and how to spell that which is fine, but then when he wanted my social security number I put the breaks on and said no I’m not comfortable giving you my social security number," said Howard.
Vice President of Financial Crimes at Ent Credit Union LaShae Woodard is says attacks from bank imposters are increasing across the board.
”They’ll call them. Text is very popular to get you to enter your information on a link or to call them back. They’ll spoof the bank number. So, if you have the bank number saved in your phone it will pop up as the bank. They’ll either try to convince you to act quickly or to get your credentials. Sometimes they will even mail you something in the mail trying to get you to act fast,” Woodard warned.
Still unsure if the unexpected check she got in the mail is real, Howard says she plans to take it into a local branch of the bank that supposedly sent it to get some answers.
Understanding the prevalence of bank imposters right now, she hopes anyone who gets unexpected correspondence from any bank will also go the extra mile to stay safe.
”With the economy the way it is, people are needing money to just be able to live and buy food and pay rent and all those other kinds of things. I just see thanks to you and your reports that there are a lot of scams out there that take advantage of people,” said Howard.
Woodard says customers should seek clarification from their bank on how they will be alerted if there are problems with their account and what steps can be taken to identify a legitimate notification from a fraudulent one. Having this conversation now could help you do a better job of spotting scams in the future when bank imposters try to lure you in.
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