Consumer Alerts
BEWARE THESE SCAMS COULD COST YOU BIG BUCKS! WE HAVE CUSTOMERS CONTACT US DAILY CONCERNING ACTIVITIES DESIGNED TO SCAM THEM OUT OF THEIR MONEY AND THEIR GOOD CREDIT. THESE SCAMS COME IN MANY FORMS BUT THEY ARE ALL DESIGNED TO DO ONE THING: CHEAT YOU OUT OF YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY!
We take substantial measures at Citizens Bank of Eldon and Versailles to protect your personal and financial information. Keeping your financial information secure is one of our most important responsibilities. If you feel that you have been a victim of identity theft, please contact one of our customer service representatives immediately.
IDENTITY THEFT
The number of Americans affected by identify theft will top 30 million this year. Identity theft occurs when someone steals your personal information to establish credit, purchase items or borrow money in your name. There are several steps that you can take to protect yourself against this ever-growing problem.
SAFEGUARD YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION such as your checking account and debit card numbers. Unless you know the person or organization you’re dealing with, do not give this information out, even to someone claiming to be from your bank.
DO NOT PUT PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION such as your social security number and date of birth on your checks. The only information that should be on your checks is your name, address and phone number.
REPORT LOST OR STOLEN CHECKS IMMEDIATELY. Review new deliveries of checks to make sure none have been stolen in transit. Also, keep your supply of checks at home in a secure place.
NOTIFY YOUR BANK OF SUSPICIOUS PHONE INQUIRIES such as those asking for account information to “verify a statement” or “award a prize.” Never give out your checking account information or credit card information to these people.
SHRED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OR BANK STATEMENTS before disposing of them.
IF REGULAR BILLS FAIL TO REACH YOU, call the company to find out why. Someone may have filed a false change-of-address notice to divert your mail and steal your identity. If your bills include questionable items, investigate immediately. This is another sign of identity theft fraud.
AVOID PHISHING SCAMS. Never reply directly or click on a link in response to an e-mail that asks for personal or financial information. Remember that Citizens Bank of Eldon will never contact you to ask for your personal financial information.
FRAUDULENT SWEEPSTAKES AND LOTTERY WINNINGS Internet scams are cropping up every single day. These scams are usually generated from e-mails that are sent from outside the United States. The bogus e-mail will generally state that you are the recipient of a sweepstakes prize or lottery. They will normally mail you a check for a portion of your winnings. They will instruct you to wire most of these funds back to them to pay for the taxes and processing fees. They will instruct you to keep your winnings confidential because they know that if you tell us why you are wiring the funds, we will alert you to the scam. Once the wire transfer is completed, it can not be reversed or stopped for any reason. The check will eventually be returned to the bank as fraudulent and you are the one responsible since you cashed the check.
INTERNET SALES SCAMS Scams using Internet sales or auction services such as E-Bay have victimized many of our customers. The con-artist will pose as a buyer of something you have for sale. He will send you a check that is substantially higher than whatever he is buying. He will explain that the check was cut in error and if you wire most of the money back to him, he will let you keep part of the proceeds for your trouble. Once the wire transfer is completed, it can not be reversed or stopped for any reason. The check will eventually be returned to the bank as counterfeit and you are the one responsible since you cashed the check.
PHISHING Phishing–pronounced “fishing” because that is exactly what the scam artist is trying to do. He is “fishing” for your personal financial information. You may receive an e-mail or a phone call from someone claiming to be from the bank, the FDIC, or a law enforcement officer asking that you verify some of your personal information. Your call or e-mail may be from someone claiming that you have won a prize and they need to verify your information before they can send you your winnings. This is really a scam trying to obtain your information so that they can use it themselves for fraudulent purposes or sell the information to other con-artists. Never reply directly or click on a link in response to an e-mail that asks for personal or financial information. Remember that Citizens Bank of Eldon will never contact you in this manner to ask for your personal financial information.
