Banks Never Ask That!

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We never ask that!

Have you been receiving more unwanted calls lately about updating your cars warranty? If you have you are not alone. How can you combat these hucksters as they try and take your money? For starters, remember that we will never ask you for personal information. That includes:

    • Your account number
    • Your full debit or credit card number
    • Your CVV number
    • Your PIN number
    • Your full Social Security number
    • Close your account for refusal to give the above information.
    • Ask you to complete a “test” transaction
    • Address you as “user” or “yourname@gmail.com”
    • Ask you for your online banking password or security questions
    • Ask you to text personal or banking information.

Spammers know no bound. They are persistent and have an assortment of tools they use to try and separate you from your money.

Phishing is a type of online scam where criminals make fraudulent emails, phone calls, and texts that appear to come from a legitimate bank. Every year, people lose hundreds, even thousands of dollars to these scams. The communication is designed to trick you into entering confidential information (like account numbers, passwords, PINs, or birthdays) into a fake website by clicking on a link, or to tell it to someone imitating your bank on the phone.

Email or Text

If you suspect that an email or text you receive is a phishing attempt:

  • Take a deep breath. In most cases, it’s perfectly safe to open a scam email or text. Modern mail apps, like Gmail, detect and block any code or malware from running when you open an email. The key is not to click links, or download any attachments.
  • Do not download any attachments in the message. Attachments may contain malware such as viruses, worms or spyware.
  • Do not click links that appear in the message. Links in phishing messages direct you to fraudulent websites.
  • Do not reply to the sender. Ignore any requests from the sender and do not call any phone numbers provided in the message.
  • Report it. Help fight scammers by reporting them. Report the phishing attack to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Call

If you receive a phone call that seems to be a phishing attempt:

  • Hang up or end the call. Be aware that area codes can be misleading. If your Caller ID displays a local area code, this does not guarantee that the caller is local.
  • Do not respond to the caller’s requests. Financial institutions and legitimate companies will never call you to request your personal information. Never give personal information to the incoming caller.
  • If you feel you’ve been the victim of a scam, did provide personal or financial information, contact United Community Bank immediately at 218-346-5700. Tell us any and all relevant details, such as whether the suspicious caller attempted to impersonate your bank and whether any personal or financial information was provided to the suspicious caller.
  1. Contact United Community Bank.
    • Let us know that someone has stolen your identity.
    • Request to close or freeze any accounts that may have been tampered with or fraudulently established.
    • Make sure to change your online login credentials, passwords and PINs.
  2. Secure your email and other communication accounts
    • Many people reuse passwords and your email or cell phone account may be compromised as well.
    • Create cOmplic@t3d passwords and change them at least 3 times a year
    • Never store personal or financial information, including passwords, on your device
  3. Check your credit reports and place a fraud alert on them
    • Get a free copy of your credit report from annualcreditreport.com or call 877.322.8228.
    • Review your credit report to make sure unauthorized accounts have not been opened in your name.
    • Report any fraudulent accounts to the appropriate financial institutions.
    • Place a fraud alert on your credit by contacting one of the three credit bureaus. That company must tell the other two.
      – Experian: 888.397.3742 or experian.com
      – TransUnion: 800.680.7289 or transunion.com
      – Equifax: 888.766.0008 or equifax.com
  4. Contact the Federal Trade Commission to report an ID theft incident: visit ftc.gov/idtheft or call 877.438.4338.
  5. File a report with your local law enforcement
    • Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.

Looking for more things you can do to help prevent being exposed to fraud or scam? We have some more things you can do to keep yourself secure!