Cybersecurity

As we keep moving forward during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are living in the time of our lives where there is a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. We have customers who are concerned about a loss of their job, or potentially, a downturn in their business. At the same time, there are cyber criminals out there who are trying to take advantage of the current fear climate. They are using data from different breaches and talking people into giving up confidential information, including information about their bank accounts. The technology that allows cyber criminals to spoof a phone number – that is, make it appear that a phone call is originating from a legitimate location – is fairly easy to acquire and use. This means that many cyber criminals will call customers and impersonate the bank.

If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank, we recommend you tell the person you will call them back – then hang up the phone, look up the number on a reliable source (such as your bank statement), and call the bank back using the number you found. A bank will always ask you questions to validate your identity over the phone before discussing any confidential information.