Fraud can change your life in seconds, quickly draining your life savings and leaving you with nothing. Often, we discuss the role of fraudsters attacking the account holder. Yet, fraudsters will attack any vector available to them. This could be via the power of attorneys, businesses, and banks. Here’s what you can do to help reduce or mitigate the risk of a third-party threat vector.
What makes you prepared to handle an attempted fraud or scam? Keeping a level head and questioning your current situation is a good start. If you are told to be secretive, it’s time to hang up the phone. Scammers use this technique to put pressure on you and not trust anyone else. If we, as your bank, question you about the intentions of your funds, we are trying to help validate and protect you from being taken advantage of by fraudsters.
We see on a regular basis that customers, amid a scam, will remain on the phone with a scammer when they walk into the bank to conduct their business. This puts a level of pressure on the victims to make them comply with the scammer’s demands. No trustworthy company or government agency will ask this of you. Usually, their threats are made up and hold no weight.
Non-traditional methods of payment are generally requested by scammers. This could include gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other obscure methods. The trouble for the victim is that these funds will never be recovered if they are sent this way.
Our hope is that no one else gets scammed. However, we understand this is highly unlikely. Keep an eye out for any of these behaviors. Talk to your family and be open about the interactions you have. We want nothing but the best for you and your family.