By RCB Bank Fraud Department, 877.361.0814

Wiring money is a way to send and receive money fast. It’s also a prime target for fraud.

Wire fraud often happens when dishonest people convince you to willingly send funds under false pretenses.

Because money moves fast in a wire transfer, it is nearly impossible to get it back.

Banks are required by law to make deposited check funds available within days, but it may take weeks to uncover a fake check.

You are liable if you deposit fraudulent funds into your bank account. If a check you deposit turns out to be a fake, you are responsible for repaying the bank.

Don’t be fooled. Before sending or accepting money, ask yourself these questions.

Do I really know this person?

Is the person a new acquaintance? A new romance? Scammers often use social media, email or phone to target victims. They will do whatever it takes to develop a seemingly real relationship with you, which may include meeting you in person. Be on guard for romance scams.

Is this person claiming to be a family member in trouble?

It’s called a grandparent scam. A criminal pretends to be a relative who needs money, e.g., they’re in trouble, had an accident or need bail money. They ask you to send money fast via gift cards or wire transfer, and beg you not to tell anyone. Always call the person at a known number (not the caller ID number) to confirm their story.

Is this person claiming to be a government agent, police officer or banker investigating a series of fraud cases and needs my help?

Scammers spoof caller ID and email addresses to look as if it is a trusted company or friend calling. Do your research, check the facts and talk to your bank about the transaction before sending money.

Is this person offering a get-rich deal. Am I asked to keep it secret?

Do not pay upfront for a promise to make money fast. Watch out for prize and inheritance scams that require you to pay taxes in advance.

Did this person come to my door or are they offering me an advance-payment service?

“No thanks.” Do not pay for services in advance. This also goes for things like debt relief, loan offers, online purchases or jobs. Watch out for services that require payment through electronic transfer to a home office or to another individual who they claim to be the boss.

Are you feeling pressured to send money?

Be suspicious of urgent money requests. Scammers want you to act fast and use threats and emotional ploys. STOP. Slow down and check the facts. Discuss the transaction with your bank, the police or a friend before sending money.

Protect Yourself: If you feel you are a victim of fraud, call your bank immediately.

Get more security tips at:

RCB Bank Security Center
FBI.gov/scams-and-safety

Opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the author and meant for generic illustration purposes only. Member FDIC.

There is a new sophisticated Netflix phishing attack you need to watch out for. They start out very pleasant, saying they have some trouble with your billing info, and pretty please with sugar on top need you to update your payment details. But if you fall for it, they will try to steal your login details, your credit card data, your picture and your ID!

Think Before You Click!

• Never click on a login link or an account verification link in an email. If there is one, bail.
• Check for the green HTTPS padlock. If there isn’t one, bail.
• If there is a padlock, check the name of the site. If it’s not exactly what you expect, bail.
• Don’t ignore telltales such as spelling and grammar errors. If it looks wrong, bail.
• Guard your ID closely. If you’re asked for a selfie or ID when it isn’t absolutely necessary, bail.

Let’s take a closer look.

(Note the simple trick, right there in the subject line, of not spelling out the brand-theft text “Netflix” exactly: the crooks wrote the X as the Greek letter chi, so that Netflix came out as Netfli?.)

Next, you wind up here and that’s where they steal your credentials. But wait, there’s more…

Next, they steal your credit card data:

And trying to keep you on the hook, they throw in a Verfied by VISA page:

Then to add insult to injury, they make you confirm your identity by taking a selfie holding your identity card. Yikes!

An Apple scam is also going around.

Watch out for emails from Apple stating “someone has logged into your Apple ID from an unknown device.” It’s not real.

Stop. Look. Think. Don’t be fooled.

Information provided by Stu Sjouwerman, Founder and CEO of KnowBe4, Inc. Keeping You Informed. Keeping You Aware.

Make text banking your first defense against fraud.

Fraud can happen to anyone. It happened to me and text banking tried to warn me.

I was out of town. I noticed two purchase alerts in my messages. My wife and I share an account and she had recently been to a craft fair, so I assumed they were hers. I was in a hurry and did not verify the transactions. My mistake. A couple of hours later, my bank called to inform us these were fraudulent charges on my wife’s card. Luckily, they caught it quickly and canceled her card before other fraud occurred.

Fraud departments are great at what they do, but so are fraudsters. It’s ultimately up to me to keep track of what is happening on my account. Text banking allows me to monitor account activity quickly and easily throughout the day from my phone. If I don’t recognize an expense, I can check it out right then. Detecting fraud early can help minimize loss.

Many major credit card companies also offer text alerts. Let text banking help you guard your money.

Other cool features:

You can use text banking to check account balances, transfer money between accounts and notify you when your balance falls below a specific dollar amount. You can pick and choose which alerts you want to receive. Smartphone and Wi-Fi not required.

Learn more ways to protect your money at RCBbank.com/GetFit.

Want to know more about text banking?

For more information about text banking and to read frequently asked questions, visit our Text Banking page.

To sign up for text banking, visit any of our RCB Bank locations.

Message, data rates and fees may apply. Ask for details. Delivery of alerts may be delayed for various reasons, including service outages affecting your phone, wireless or internet provider, technology failures, and system capacity limitations. Any time you review your balance, keep in mind it may not reflect all transactions including recent debit card transactions or checks you have written.

Opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the author and meant for generic illustration purposes only. Message, data rates and fees may apply.

By Jocelyn Wood, RCB Bank

Don’t wait for a criminal to steal your identity before you take action. Guard your ID with these preventative measures.

Monitor bank account and credit card statements regularly.

Lookout for suspicious or unauthorized activity.

“Watch closely for small amounts on your account activity,” said Assistant Vice President Fraud Denise Meyer, RCB Bank. “Fraudsters will make little purchases or withdrawals with various odd merchant names hoping you won’t notice.”

Set up for text alerts to notify you whenever a transaction occurs on your bank or credit card accounts.

Check your free credit reports.

Federal law allows you to request a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three national credit reporting companies (CRC). Request a copy online at www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1.877.322.8228.

Space out requests throughout the year to provide regular updates on your credit. See who is making inquiries on your credit. If it’s not a person or company you gave permission to, your information may be compromised.

Place a fraud alert/credit freeze with CRC.

When you have an alert on your report, a business must verify your identity before it issues credit, so it may try to contact you, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Place a fraud alert at no cost with one CRC. They will then notify the other two. The alert lasts 90 days and can be renewed.

You can go a step further and lock down your credit with a credit freeze, which restricts access to your credit report. You’ll need to contact each CRC to place a credit freeze. There may be a fee.

Credit alerts and freezes may be effective at stopping someone from opening new credit accounts in your name, but it may not prevent the misuse of existing accounts. You still need to monitor all bank, credit card and insurance statements for fraudulent transactions.

Stay Alert

“Criminals take advantage of data breaches, natural disasters or other major crises and prey on people’s fears,” said Meyer.

Watch out for phishing emails pretending to be a government agency or credit reporting service.

Do not click on links from any email, text or social media message about data breaches.

If you think your information has been compromised, call your bank immediately. Read how to report and recover from ID theft at the FTC, www.identitytheft.gov.

Invest in yourself.

* 2017 Identity Fraud Study, Javelin Strategy & Research.
Opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of writer Jocelyn Wood,RCB Bank Creative Designer, and meant for generic illustration purposes only. RCB Bank, Member FDIC.
Published in Values Magazine ValueNews.com, October 2017

I cannot stress enough the importance of using caution when it comes to using the internet, checking your emails and answering phone calls. Criminals are savvy con artists who steal billions of dollars from people each year.

Fraudsters are masters of age-old deception tricks. Often times, they persuade victims to hand over personal information and money willingly through telemarketing, Ponzi schemes and internet scams.

Avoid becoming a victim and take steps to protect you and your money.

Tip #1. Don’t be fooled by promises.

If you receive mail or a phone call stating you’ve won a free gift and all you need to do is pay postage or a small deposit, walk away. Con artists use convincing telemarketing to deceive victims. Mail may look like official letterhead from well-known companies. Criminals may cunningly pretend to represent local charities.

Adopt these principles:

• Only pay for goods and services after you receive them.
• Before giving money to a charity, personally investigate the company – find out how the money is used.

Tip #2. Don’t be pressured by scare tactics.

Fraudsters like to frighten victims into thinking they owe money to the IRS, or threaten arrest if they don’t pay an outstanding balance. Criminals can get their hands on public records and personal information, from the internet and social media networks, and create plausible schemes. Before you act out of fear, seek the truth.

• Call the company directly to verify. Do not call the number provided to you. Call the number in the phonebook or on the company’s official website.

• Review your bills and statements carefully. Fraudsters may claim you owe money for services not performed or send you fake bills.
• Talk to your personal financial advisor before agreeing to any solicited investment proposal.

Tip #3. Safeguard your personal information.

There are hundreds of scams – phishing, texting, pop-up windows, downloads, skimming and spyware – to trick you into revealing personal information. Assume anything you post or send online or via phone is public. Take these precautions to protect yourself:

• Do not reveal any personal information – including your current whereabouts – online, e.g., social media check-in status.
• Install anti-spyware software and update it regularly.
• Check your accounts often, looking for unusual activity.
• Do not agree to let online sites remember your passwords – this is an open door for hackers.
• Always sign off or log out properly.
• Do not click on links in emails without verifying the source. Often times, scammers will send you mail from a familiar address in your contact list.
• Check out the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumer.ftc.gov, to learn about recent scam alerts.

Criminals do not discriminate. All ages and demographics are at risk. As Ben Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The FTC and Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI.gov, offer tips and advice for fraud protection.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have. Call us at 855-BANK-RCB or visit your local RCB Bank location.