Emergencies offer golden opportunities for cybercriminals to launch fraudulent campaigns that feed off the climate of concern we are currently living in.
In light of recent events, cybercriminals are taking full advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, posing as your financial institution and agency representatives to perpetrate fraudulent schemes.
During these unprecedented times, consumers may receive false information regarding the security of their deposits or their ability to access cash. As an FDIC insured bank, we want to reassure you that your deposits remain safe, along with your access to funds.
Other reported scams regarding the COVID-19 outbreak are taking place in various forms, such as phishing emails, World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) impersonators, robocalls, and fake charities asking consumers for money. These scammers may ask for personal information, such as bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and other details that can be used to commit fraud or sell a person's identity. Consumers should not provide this information.
Along with the FDIC, First American Bank and Trust does not send unsolicited correspondence asking for money or sensitive personal information and we will never contact our customers asking for personal details, such as bank account information, credit and debit card numbers, Social Security numbers, PINs or passwords.
To help protect you and your family from falling victim to cybercriminals and scammers during the COVID-19 outbreak, practice these cybersecurity tips below from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
- Do not open attachments or click links within emails from senders you don't recognize.
- Always verify the web address of legitimate websites and manually type them into your browser.
- Check for misspellings or wrong domains within a link (for example, an address that should end in a ".gov" ends in ".com" instead).
- Do not provide your username, password, date of birth, social security number, financial data, or other personal information in response to an email or robocall.
- Be wary of websites and apps claiming to track COVID-19 cases worldwide. Criminals are using malicious websites to infect and lock devices until payment is received.
- Should you receive a robocall, do not press any numbers, just hang up. These recordings may say pressing a number will let you speak to a live operator or remove you from their call list, but it might lead to more robocalls, instead.
- If you plan on donating money to a COVID-19 relief fund, research charities prior to giving.
If you believe you're the victim of an internet scam or cybercrime, or if you want to report suspicious activity, please visit the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov
