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October marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and here at Mechanics Cooperative Bank, we champion online safety and security.
Every year, millions of people are affected by scams and frauds, often leaving them with financial, emotional, and practical consequences. As a matter of fact, Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), has reported that impersonation scams were the top reported type of scam with 148% increase year-over-year and bank impersonation scams are a large portion of this. This reflects a growing volume of scam/fraud attempts in the past years.
What are Bank Impersonation Scams and How to Identify Them?
Bank impersonation scams are defined as a type of cyber threat where criminals impersonate legitimate financial institutions to trick consumers to reveal sensitive personal and financial information or transfer money.
Over the years, fraudsters have developed new tactics in tricking consumers. However, the goal has never changed – to gain unauthorized access to consumer’s accounts and assets by convincing consumers to act quickly before they can verify the request. Fraudsters often reach out through phone calls, text messages, or e-mails claiming suspicious account activity, a problem that needs to be fixed quickly, account issues and more. Below are the red flags or indicators to watch out for:
- Requests for personal information
- Requests to transfer money
- Unusual payment demands
- Suspicious URLs and attachments
- Threats/intimidation tactics
- Requests for urgent actions
Types of Bank Impersonation Scams
Knowing the types of bank impersonation scams is equally as important as knowing how to identify one. Being knowledgeable will help you avoid being a victim of one no matter how convincing it might seem.
1. Phishing E-mails – E-mail will appear to be from your bank and will provide a warning regarding suspicious activity on your accounts and will direct you to what seems to be a legit website only to capture your login credentials.
2. Voice Phishing Calls (Vishing) – Phone calls designed to impersonate banks or bank employees to verify sensitive information such as account number, PIN, and other security information.
3. SMS Phishing (Smishing) – Fraudulent text messages that appear to be from your bank that will lead you to a fake website to steal your login credentials.
4. Fake Bank Websites – Websites that are identical to a real website
5. Social Engineering and Social Media Scams – Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms are also being used to impersonate banks.
6. Phantom Hacker – Scammers pretend to be some type of technical support/staff to gain access to your personal and financial accounts.
How Can You Protect Yourself?
Not only do scams/frauds cause financial losses, it also causes significant emotional and practical harm. These are the reasons why it is important to continuously learn about protecting your digital life, identifying threats and securing personal data.
Aside from remembering that banks will never send unsolicited e-mails or other types of communications requesting you to verify any of your personal or financial information, here are ways to protect yourself from falling victim to one:
1. Never click on suspicious links.
2. Hang up on unsolicited calls
3. Never provide personal information or account information
4. Verify Authenticity of e-mails, calls, and text messages.
5. Take proactive steps to secure your accounts and keep your information safe
6. Always monitor your accounts
7. Always remain cautious
Your security matters to us here at Mechanics Cooperative Bank and we take it seriously. To help keep you informed/updated, recognize scams and respond accordingly, we have put together tips, tools, and updates that you can always reference back to. Please consult our Security Center on our website homepage at www.mechanics.bank.
Mechanics Cooperative Bank is Member FDIC. Member DIF. Equal Housing Lender.