Beware of Text Messages or Calls Appearing from Your Bank The scam. Over the years, there have been a growing number of “spoofing” attempts being made in the financial industry, including on FirstBank customers. Fraudsters are using falsified caller ID numbers — or what appears to be legitimate text messages — to trick FirstBank customers into providing sensitive information. These scammers act as bank representatives… Read More
Money Mule Scams Are on the Rise: Here’s What You Need to Know Did you know social media has become a major playground for money mule scams resulting in a $1.4 billion loss? Money mule scams are a way for criminals to conceal the source of their funds, typically garnered through illegal activities like fraud, identity theft, drug trafficking, and more. One common tactic is recruiting people to… Read More
6 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Business from Check Fraud Did you know 63% of organizations experience check fraud? According to an AFP® Payments Fraud and Control Report, checks are considered the most vulnerable payment methods susceptible to fraud. That’s because checks contain significant sensitive personal information like bank account and routing numbers, physical addresses, and signatures. While checks are clearly the most susceptible to… Read More
6 Ways to Protect Yourself from Check Washing Have you ever lost a check in the mail or sent one that was never received? It’s possible the check was stolen and used for check washing. Check washing is when fraudsters use chemicals to wash the ink off a check and alter the payee’s name or dollar amount. The United States Postal Service reported postal inspectors recover… Read More
4 Tax Scams Targeting Your Refund and How You Can Avoid Them In 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reported nearly 300,000 identity theft cases, resulting in an estimated $5.5 billion in tax fraud. Through several sneaky scams, fraudsters will target taxpayers during tax season to steal their data, personal information, and refunds. Four common tax scams to watch out for. With fraudsters becoming savvier, it’s important… Read More
Contacted by the IRS? Here’s How You Can Tell It’s a Scam Have you been contacted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) via email or text? Well, it may be a scam. With tax season ramping up, IRS impersonators are pulling out all the stops to trick you into clicking on insecure links to steal your information. According to the IRS Criminal Investigation Unit, there were more… Read More
Bitcoin Scams Are on the Rise: Here’s What You Need to Know The number of consumers who reported stolen cryptocurrency has increased substantially, with reported losses of over $110 million in 2023 and $66 million in just the first half of 2024. As online fraudsters continue to become more savvy and cryptocurrency grows in popularity, knowing what to look out for to protect yourself and your funds… Read More
3 Steps You Can Take to Avoid Credit Card Fraud Did you know that 91% of all cyber-attacks begin with a phishing text or email and can lead to credit card fraud or identity theft? What’s more, 62 million Americans had fraudulent charges on their credit or debit cards last year alone, with unauthorized purchases exceeding $6.2 billion annually. Here’s how you can spot and avoid credit… Read More
6 Tips for Protecting Your Accounts Online Accessing personal information online, especially your bank account, can be risky. According to a Statista report, the estimated annual cost of U.S. cybercrime in 2024 was $452.3 billion. That’s why using as many security features and fraud prevention resources as possible is important. Here are six ways you can protect your personal information and accounts online.… Read More
6 Tips to Protect Yourself and Loved Ones from Elder Financial Abuse What is elder financial abuse? The U.S. Justice Department defines elder financial abuse as any improper use of an adult’s finances and property, either without their consent or through manipulative and threatening measures. Sadly, 87.5% of older adults were victims of financial mistreatment by friends or family members, and according to the National Council on Aging,… Read More