Fraud education

You get a text, email or phone call claiming to be from your “bank.” Supposedly, there’s an “issue” with your account. To resolve it, you’re told to send a person-to-person payment with Zelle® or share online login, debit card, and/ or account details. Don’t.

Your bank will never make an unsolicited request for sensitive info or tell you to transfer money.

Fraudsters look for quick and easy methods to create panic. As a result, text messages continue to rise in popularity amongst scammers. Here are a few tips to help you recognize deceitful text messages:

• Avoid clicking on links within a text message. Simmons Bank will never provide a link to request sensitive information.
• Text message scams will often feature poor punctuation and grammatical practices.
• Don't provide sensitive information via text messages. Your bank will never utilize a text message to request specific details regarding your account's security.
• Scammers will utilize well-recognized brands or personal information to grab your attention. For example, a text message making a false claim that you recently withdrew cash or attempted to reset account information, and you did not carry out these actions, is probably a scam.

See examples

A fictitious “breeder” posts pictures of an adorable litter of puppies. You’re excited to adopt one and pay in advance, but the seller scampers off with your money.

Don’t trust a contact who won’t talk to you over the phone or wants to be paid in gift cards or another unusual payment type.

An online love interest builds your trust, then asks you to send money for an “emergency.” or provides you with investment advice (such as investing in crypto).

Social media profiles can be faked. If you haven’t communicated face-to-face, use caution.

Someone on social media promises easy money – if you send them a little cash first. After you pay, they block you.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As theft of mailed checks increases nationwide, here are tips to keep your mailed payments secure:

• Criminals are targeting mail collection boxes for check theft, so reduce your risk by walking into your post office and handing your mail to the person across the counter.
• You can also minimize mail fraud risk by using your post office’s indoor collection slot.
• If you need to use an outdoor mail collection box, drop off your payment right before the collection time.
• Avoid using blue collection boxes on holidays and weekends to limit your mail’s exposure to potential theft.

Crypto investment scams promise huge returns with “zero risk,” and often start with an ad, post, or message on a social media platform. Once hooked, you are convinced to send money to purchase crypto, but those crypto “investments” go straight to a scammer’s wallet. Here are a few suggestions to help you avoid a crypto scam.

• Don’t trust a source without speaking face-to-face or via phone call.
• Hesitate to trust a single ad, post, or message. Further research the party before investing.
• Be careful sharing investment information or ideas via the internet. A new relationship or romantic interest forged on the internet can be a scammer looking to capitalize on your money.

Scammers may call your personal phone or send a text message with a caller ID that represents your bank. Rather than a personal conversation, you are linked to a representative who asks questions about your recent purchases. You may believe you’re speaking with your bank’s fraud department. However, this is a scammer looking to access your mobile banking account to transfer money.

Similarly, a text message proclaims that your account is compromised, and you must urgently send your account information by following a link. Additional details of the situation lead you to believe the situation is urgent and real. This is a scammer searching for an easy track to your personal information.

Here are some tips to avoid these common scenarios.

• Don’t fall victim to an urgent tone when handling your banking information. Your bank will never request information such as usernames, passwords, or ID numbers.
• Communicate with your bank when a request for your information arises. An urgent request is a scammer, and a quick phone call to your bank can help clarify the situation.

You decide to sell an item via Facebook. You find a buyer and receive a check for the item. However, the buyer overpaid and now asks you to return the difference. The buyer’s initial check was likely fake. You receive a worthless check after you return the excess funds to the buyer.

Alternatively, you might decide to buy an item and send the seller the desired price. Having transferred the funds, you never receive the item, or it is damaged upon arrival. Fraudsters will utilize Zelle® to capitalize on this scheme as well.

• When engaged in an online transaction such as Facebook, ensure you complete a conversation with the person before sending money or offering account information.
• Be suspicious of any overpayments and requests for returned funds. This is considered an overpayment scam.

Scammers impersonate well-known computer security companies. Victims receive mail, telephone, text, or email notifying them that a subscription to a computer security service has been renewed and their account has been charged a fee. Victims call a “customer assistance line” to obtain a refund of the fee, and after providing scammers remote access to their computers, are tricked into believing a large overpayment was made to the victim. Victims are directed to correct this “overpayment” by immediately making wire transfers to overseas accounts, purchasing large amounts of prepaid cards, or by entering cash into cryptocurrency ATMs.