Thieves collect personal information through a number of ways.  As your hometown community bank we want to keep our customers informed on how identity thieves gather their information.  Here is a list of definitions to keep you informed;

Dumpster Diving: Identity thieves simply rummage through your trash to find any personal information you may have thrown away. Always shred any documents that have your name, social security number or any other identifying information on it before disposing of it.

Phishing: An attempt at fishing for your personal information by online ID Criminals. You receive an email that appears to come from your bank, online retailer, or other legitimate company you do business with. The email will ask you to "confirm your account information" by supplying Social Security number, credit card or bank information or other information that is specific to your account. When you send the requested information the thieves can now use it to access your account to commit fraudulent transactions.

Make sure to check out our Alerts and Protection page often to stay informed and to learn of more ways to protect yourself from the latest scams.

      

BEWARE!

12-15-2009
From the Office of Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey 

2.  Memorabilia: 2009 provided many opportunities for scammers to sell memorabilia and collectibles at inflated prices.

3.  Weight Loss Pills Free Trial Offers: Free trial offers for weight loss pills actually ended up costing unsuspecting consumers thousands of dollars.  

4.  Phishing E-mails: Phishing e-mails appearing to be from government agencies popped up in in-boxes. These phishing emails attempted to trick victims into divulging sensitive financial information.

5.  Mystery Shopping: Consumers were told they would be paid to secretly shop in order to evaluate merchants’ customer service.  In some instances, victims were asked to wire money back to scammers as a way to evaluate money wiring services such as MoneyGram and Western Union. Victims who participated were sent authentic looking checks which, when cashed left the victims “holding the bag”.

6.  Lottery Scams: Victims received bogus letters or phone calls informing them that they had won millions of dollars. Unfortunately, victims were also told they had to wire hundreds or thousands of dollars back to the scammers to cover taxes or other bogus fees.

7.  Friend/Family in Distress: Also known as the Grandma Scam, victims received messages from scammers claiming to be “friends” or “family members” needing immediate help. Victims were asked to wire money to pay for lawyer’s fees or to post bail.

8.  Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue/Debt Assistance: Victims paid upfront fees to avoid home foreclosures or to get help with credit card debt - with no results.

9.  Job Hunter Scams: Job seekers paid bogus upfront fees as part of an application process. Job applicants were also asked to provide personal financial information or social security numbers under the guise of evaluating their applications.

10.  Robocalls: Thousands of people received automated telephone calls related to auto warranties and lower credit card interest rates.

12-3-2009
Fraudulent Correspondence Claiming to Be From the FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is reminding financial institutions, businesses and consumers that fraudulent correspondence claiming to be from the FDIC continues to be mailed, faxed and e-mailed in the United States and other countries. The correspondence uses various techniques to gain the trust of recipients in hopes they will provide sensitive personal information, including bank account numbers, that can be used to steal money and other assets. Recipients should NOT, under any circumstances, respond to the fraudulent requests. Institutions also are encouraged to inform customers that fraud artists may use the names of the FDIC and other government agencies and to take appropriate precautions.

The criminals, knowing that people trust the FDIC name, have duplicated the official logo and seal in fraudulent letters, forms, certificates and other correspondence. Recent examples have included invoices, bills, transfer forms, guarantees, endorsements, and confirmations of stock and investment purchases. In some cases, recipients were asked to complete fraudulent forms and return them by fax or e-mail. In other cases, recipients were asked to remit funds via check or wire transfer service.

The FDIC rarely sends unsolicited bills or other similar documents to financial institutions, businesses and consumers. In particular, the FDIC does not send unsolicited correspondence asking for sensitive personal information, including bank account information. Anyone receiving such correspondence should contact the FDIC immediately by calling toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342) or by e-mailing to alert@fdic.gov. Do not use contact information listed for the FDIC in the correspondence because it is likely to be falsified.

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-3054, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Questions related to fraudulent correspondence, deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2009/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

12-3-2009
PHISHING SCAM  - CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) Sponsored State Vaccination Program for H1N1
CDC has received reports of fraudulent emails (phishing) referencing a CDC sponsored State Vaccination Program for H1N1. The messages request that users create a personal H1N1 (swine flu) Vaccination Profile on the CDC.gov web site.

An example of the phishing email is below:

• Do not open or respond to unsolicited email messages.
• Do not click links embedded in emails from unknown senders.
• Use caution when entering personal information online.
• Update anti-virus, spyware, firewall, and anti-spam software regularly.  

11-12-2009
Phishing Alert from National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)

You may receive or have already received a falsified e-mail with the subject title "Rejected ACH Transaction."  This e-mail appears to be from NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association telling them that there is a problem with an ACH transaction they have originated.  The e-mail includes a link which redirects the individual to a fake web page which appears like the NACHA website and contains a link which is almost certainly executable virus with malware.  If you receive this e-mail do not open it and delete it immediately.

See sample e-mail below: