SouthEast Bank wants to empower you with the tools and resources to help you make confident decisions on your financial journey, including arming you with a better understanding of how to protect your personal and financial information along the way.

Sometimes, however, scammers take advantage of the relationship between banks and their customers by posing as a bank representative, sending you alarming or threatening voicemails, texts, emails, or physical mail about the state of your account. If you were to provide these scammers with valuable personal data, even accidentally, it could have ramifications for your financial and emotional well-being.

How to Identify the Most Common Types of Scams

  •  Screen phone calls or texts from numbers you don’t recognize

The most immediate way a scammer may attempt to contact you is by phone. We’re used to answering calls or replying to messages quickly, and we may not second-guess who is contacting us or why, especially in a busy or distracted moment.

Scammers use this to their advantage by sending urgent-sounding messages to gain access to your information. They may contact you about an “unusual charge” that you need to log into your account to review. They may call and say they are from your bank’s fraud department, or send you a text claiming that your account is at risk or has been frozen. The end goal is the same: for you to say or enter your personal information.

Do not reply to or engage with these messengers or click any links texted to you. Instead, contact a trusted representative of your financial institution by using the phone number on the card associated with your account or the official phone number listed on their webpage.

  • Review emails and letters carefully to ensure they are from a trusted sender

Similarly, common email scams relay misinformation about your account, stating that there is a problem with your account or that you need to verify recent activity. These emails may use urgent or threatening language and will often include an attachment or a link to a fake website.

You can often spot these scams by taking a close look at the email address of the sender, which may be unofficial, include spelling errors, or otherwise appear strange. The links they provide may look real but pay attention to the URL to confirm legitimacy. If you are unsure whether you’re logging into the right place, visit your institution’s homepage directly and navigate from there, rather than through the email. Treat attachments sent with unsolicited emails with the same caution.

Another way that people may try to access your information or solicit your business is by using your financial institution’s name in a mailer. Read these types of communication with the same level of care to the sender and message. Was it your institution that sent this to you, or someone using your institution’s name to elicit a response from you?

  • Be wary of requests for personal information

Regardless of how you may be contacted, it is important to treat anyone asking for your personal data with scrutiny. Here are a few distinctions for how and why you may be asked to provide your information.

If you call your financial institution about your account, it’s safe to assume that the bank representative will confirm your identity before relaying sensitive account-related information by asking for personal information such as your account number, pin or password.

Any unsolicited communication that prompts you to provide personal information should be dealt with carefully.

Information Security Rules to Remember:

The strategies that scammers employ to try to get to you and your information evolve with time and technology. However, there are some guidelines to consider when dealing with messages you may receive by phone, email, or mail.

  • Unsolicited communication instructing you to take urgent action should be treated with caution. Cybercriminals often try to create a sense of urgency to trick you into falling for a scams. If you’re worried about not acting quickly enough in regards to your account, take a moment to consider what is being asked of you and why.
  • Beware of unexpected requests for money, including payments claiming to be for fees, taxes, or penalties. Be sure to confirm the source and legitimacy of the payment request before providing financial information.
  • Legitimate institutions and organizations will not ask you provide sensitive or personal information through email. Always make sure that you are using the organization’s official website before entering any user credentials or other identifying information.
  • If you’re uncertain about the validity of the communication or sender, read all parts of their message carefully. Scammers may betray themselves in the smaller details, like email address spelling, spacing or capitalization, or other errors. If you’re still unsure, contact the institution in question directly (through their official website, NOT through the contact information provided in the message) to confirm if it came from them or not.

Your financial journey starts with SouthEast Bank. 

Olivia Johnson is marketing strategist for Southeast Bank.

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