Banks Never Ask That

Did you know that consumers lost $3.3 billion to phishing scams and other fraud in 2020? Every day, thousands of people in the U.S. fall for fraudulent emails, texts, and calls from scammers pretending to be a bank. Victims of phishing attacks can lose hundreds, even thousands of dollars, and the pandemic has only increased the threat.

To help combat the toll that phishing is taking on consumers, 1ST SUMMIT BANK is joining the American Bankers Association to promote the #BanksNeverAskThat consumer awareness campaign. The Banks Never Ask That Campaign seeks to turn the table on fraudsters by empowering consumers to spot bogus bank phishing scams.

What Is Phishing?

Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from a reputable company in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, like passwords and credit card numbers. These scammers are now posing as a bank in order to gain access to your bank information.

Phishing is the most commonly reported cyber scam, and we want to change that by helping you sharpen your scam-spotting skills.

Common Components of Bank Phishing Scams:

  1. Banks will never send you a text or email that asks you to click a suspicious link or ask you to sign in by clicking on the link. If a text or email does ask you to click on a link, do not click on it. Call us first.
  2. Scam emails, texts, and calls will pressure you or threaten you to respond. Do not respond. Call 1ST SUMMIT directly.
  3. Scammers will ask you to provide confidential information (account numbers, social security numbers, passwords, etc.) in emails or text messages. Banks will never ask you to email or text this information. Banks will only ask, over the phone or in person, for pertinent, confidential information in order to verify your identity.
  4. Fraudulent texts and emails often have typos or incorrect grammar. Banks use spell check and proofread.
  5. Fraudsters can fake a caller ID number to make it look like its 1ST SUMMIT BANK calling you. Your bank will never call you and then ask for your confidential banking information. Hang up and call us immediately.

Scammers will email you, text you, and call you. Be wary on all fronts.

For more information, visit the American Bankers Association website BanksNeverAskThat.com. Take the fun quiz and test your scam knowledge. Watch the fun videos and get wise to fraudsters. 1ST SUMMIT is ready to help you stop the scammers, so call us or stop in if you have questions.