TELEMARKETING, MAIL AND IMPERSONATORS

Telemarketing: You've won the lottery! Now, just wire us some money.
Lottery scams are generally telemarketing and internet scams that target consumers, informing them they are winners of a lottery or sweepstakes. Often times, variations of this scam originate from other countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or Spain and will target older adults.

Help us transfer funds to the U.S. and you'll be rewarded.
Consumer receives a letter, fax or email asking for assistance to transfer funds from a foreign country to the United States for safekeeping.

In variations of this scheme, the fraudster will send worthless checks that look legitimate to the consumer for deposit with a large portion being wired to another location. Once the checks are deposited, the consumer soon discovers they are left with an overdrawn account.

You've inherited money from a relative you don't know.
Consumer receives a letter or email advising them they are entitled to an inheritance from a distant relative they do not know. The fraudster needs your account information to wire you the money.

Bank Employee Impersonator
Consumer is told there is a computer problem or security investigation and asked to provide their account information for verification, and later discovers that funds are missing from their bank account.

Bank Examiner Fraud
Someone claiming to be a bank official, FBI agent or police officer contacts a bank customer and indicates that they are investigating suspected employee fraud at the bank and needs the customer's help in trapping the thief. The official asks the customer to withdraw a sum of cash from a teller, place it in a blank envelope and bring the money directly to them. The official will then count the money and inform the customer that the teller took some of it. At that point the official will state that they need to keep the money for further investigation. However, the customer will not hear from them again.

Security Savvy:  Watch for these signs

• Be wary of any offer that sounds unreal or to good to be true. It generally is.
• Be suspicious of any offer that requires you to wire money, withdraw cash from your account or provide account information.
• Verify any calls or emails that you receive about a security or fraud investigation with your bank or financial institutional.
• Be wary of Telemarketers who want to "draft" your bank account and do not provide your bank account information over the phone to strangers.
• Be wary of any individual that approaches you outside the bank or in the parking lot and needs you to withdraw money from your account for any reason.

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