Since I just received one of these, I thought I’d add the stories I could find about it!
Fraud Alert: Debit Card Phone Calls
Updated 11/25/2013 – A number of customers have reported receiving automated phone calls identified as coming from American Bank, informing them that their debit card has been blocked or closed.
The call asks customers to press 1 to speak with American Bank security, to enter their debit card number or PIN in order to reactivate the card, or to call a number and provide information to unblock or reactivate the card. Variations on these scenarios have also been reported, and customers of other financial institutions in the area have been targeted as well.
While American Bank’s debit card fraud prevention system could legitimately initiate a phone call or text message to debit card holders regarding suspicious activity on their debit cards, card holders will never be asked for their card number, PIN or account number if the call is legitimate.
Should you receive any kind of phone call, text message or e-mail asking you to provide information about your bank accounts or cards, do not respond. These messages are not from American Bank or any service associated with the bank, and the people contacting you are seeking your personal account information in order to commit fraud. Giving out your account or card information jeopardizes your account and could lead to you becoming the victim of identity theft as well.
If you have received a phone call similar to the circumstances described above and have provided the caller with any information related to your accounts or cards, please contact Customer Service immediately so that appropriate action can be taken to protect your account.
Phishing Alert: Fraudulent Texts and Phone Calls
08/09/12 – We have been notified of a phishing attempt taking place in which debit card users are receiving text messages or phone calls indicating their debit card has been blocked. The card holder is prompted to enter the card number to unblock it or requested to call a number and provide information to unblock the card. These calls and/or texts are not from American Bank. Should you receive such a call or text, do not call the number or respond to the message in any way. If you have received a call or text and responded by giving out information related to your card, please contact Customer Service immediately to close your card.
Never give your card number, PIN, account numbers, or other sensitive information to anyone.
Better Business Bureau Issues Nationwide Scam Warning
07/06/2012 – The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has issued a nationwide warning about a new scam claiming that President Obama will pay consumers’ utility bills through a new federal program.
Consumers have been contacted through telephone calls, fliers, social media and text messages, and other means with claims that President Obama is providing credits or applying payments to utility bills.
To receive the money, scammers claim they need the consumer’s Social Security Number, and bank routing number and/or account number. In return, customers are given a fraudulent bank routing number to use in order to pay their utility bills through an automated (telephone) service.
The payment service initially ‘accepts’ the payment but then declines it within a few days when the banking information is discovered to be invalid. The consumer’s bill has not been paid and his/her Social Security Number (SSN) and personal financial information have been compromised.
The BBB offers tips to consumers to avoid becoming a victim of this scam, and additional information on identify theft scams. NACHA maintains a Fraud & Phishing Resource area on www.nacha.org.
If you have any questions or suspect suspicious activity, please contact Customer Service.
Phishing Alert: Fraudulent Emails Claiming to be from NACHA
3/31/2011 – The Electronic Payments Association has received reports that individuals and/or companies continue to receive fraudulent e-mails that have the appearance of having been sent from NACHA. These e-mails vary in content and appear to be transmitted from email addresses associated with the NACHA domain (@nacha.org). Some bear the name of fictitious NACHA employees and/or departments.
NACHA itself does not process or touch the ACH transactions that flow to and from organizations and financial institutions. NACHA does not send communications to persons or organizations about individual ACH transactions that they originate or receive.
Be aware that phishing e-mails frequently have attachments and/or links to Web pages that host malicious code and software. Do not open attachments or follow Web links in unsolicited e-mails from unknown parties or from parties with whom you do not normally communicate, or that appear to be known but are suspicious or otherwise unusual.
Please contact Customer Service if you have questions or concerns.
Telephone Fraud Alert: Your American Bank Check Card
1/27/2011 – We have become aware that some American Bank customers are receiving phone calls notifying them that their Check Card has been deactivated. The recorded message instructs the customer to call a 1-800 number or Press 1 to reactivate the card. These calls are not from American Bank. Should you receive such a call, do not call the number or respond to the message in any way. Never provide card information to unsolicited callers. These types of calls are an attempt to obtain card information from various banks and customers to be used in fraudulent activity. If you have received a call and responded by giving out information related to your card, please contact Customer Service immediately to close your card.
If you are the recipient of one of these calls and can provide us with the phone number from which the call came, along with the name of your phone service carrier, it would be helpful to us in investigating the fraud. Please contact Customer Service with the information.
EFTPS Phishing Scam
A fraudulent e-mail has been circulating with the subject line “LAST NOTICE: Your EFTPS Tax Payment has been rejected.” The e-mail gives a return reason code and provides a link to a purported eftps.gov website.
If you receive an e-mail with a subject line similar to the one above, do not open the e-mail or click on any links. Disregard the e-mail and if possible, mark it as Junk Mail and delete it. Do not reply to the e-mail.
EFTPS will never attempt to contact you via e-mail. If you ever receive an e-mail that claims to be from EFTPS or from a sender you do not recognize that mentions a payment made through EFTPS, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov or call the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at (800) 366-4484.
Helpful Hints on Minimizing Fraud, Theft and Embezzlement in Your Business
Fraud committed against bank accounts continues to increase. It is occurring in many ways, and as sophisticated computer technology continues to become more readily attainable and affordable for the average person, fraud will increase even more.
You can protect yourself and your company by educating yourself on what to look for, by having strong internal controls, policies and procedures in place to make it more difficult for fraud to occur, and by training your employees and yourself to be extra vigilant.
To help you, see the attached list of tips on minimizing your potential fraud risk. In addition to these tips, one of your best lines of defense is to routinely and promptly review your bank statements, looking for unusual or unauthorized transactions.
To maximize your protection, you should carefully review the terms of the bank’s deposit agreement, paying particular attention to your responsibilities for reviewing statements and notifying the bank of unauthorized items.
If you have questions about your account agreement with us, or about establishing good internal controls to help prevent fraud, we’d be glad to visit with you. Just call any of our Cash Management specialists at (361) 653-5080 and they will set up an appointment to come by at a time convenient for you.
Increased Debit Card Fraud
Across the country, banks and their customers are experiencing significant increases in fraudulent debit card activity. This includes customers of American Bank.
We work closely with MasterCard® and our card processor to monitor card activity and identify new methods for protecting your accounts from fraud. We want you to be aware of a new anti-fraud measure we’ve recently implemented that may impact your Check Card usage.
- When a clear and active pattern of fraudulent activity is identified, we will block certain types of transactions and/or transactions originating from particular countries, states, and/or merchants.
- The blocks will be removed and added as fraud patterns change.
- The blocks can apply to transactions in person, by phone, or via the Internet.
- The blocks could cause legitimate transactions to be declined.
- The blocks will typically not affect PIN based transactions.
If you experience a declined Check Card transaction, contact Customer Service. If your transaction is blocked because of these anti-fraud measures, we can remove the block for your Check Card, provided you can answer security questions about your account that only you should know.
Removal of your Check Card from the block will be effective only through December 31 of the calendar year in which it is removed. If you wish to continue to have your Check Card removed from the block, a new request must be made by calling Customer Service at the beginning of each subsequent calendar year. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but feel the current fraud environment warrants the added protection for our customers’ accounts.
If you are traveling outside of your usual purchasing area, please notify American Bank Customer Service in order to reduce the risk of your card being blocked for suspected fraud.
Should you detect suspicious activity related to your Check Card, contact Customer Service immediately. If you have questions, we will be glad to visit with you.
Community Bank Scams
There has been a recent increase in phishing scams that are targeting Texas community banks. These scams involve multiple methods of contacting bank customers including telephone calls from an automated system, e-mails, and text messages. The messages usually direct the recipients to call either a toll-free or local number because their account has supposedly been compromised. Once the victim calls the number they are asked to provide specific information about their debit cards or accounts. This information is then used to remove funds from the victim’s account.
Never give your card, PIN, account numbers, or other sensitive information to anyone – even if it appears to be legitimate. If you are ever solicited by someone claiming to be from American Bank asking for this information, please do not give them the information and contact us immediately to report the scam, or you can report a potential phishing attempt to your area branch.
https://www.americanbank.com/security-center/fraud-alerts
http://wafflesatnoon.com/2013/02/17/did-you-receive-a-bank-of-america-fraud-alert/
Scam Watch 