Citizens Bank warns of scams

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer

WINFIELD — After a recent scam letter found its way into the mailboxes of Citizens Bank’s customers, Citizens Bank Vice President Sandy Anderson sat down with the Journal Record and shared some tips on spotting scams before it’s too late.
The letter claimed to be sent from Citizen’s Bank’s ‘Home Warranty Division,’ which doesn’t actually exist.
The letter claims the recipient’s warranty is expiring, and the recipient needs to call a phone number immediately to sort it all out.
“We don’t do any kind of home warranty when we do a loan,” Anderson said. “I got (a scam letter) the other day from an insurance company in Florence, but the letter (was addressed) to my name from before I was married. I’ve been married for 30 years, but we bought the house before we got married. So, they got property records to try and tell me what they could insure my house for. It’s the same thing as this. They’re trying to sell you a home warranty by telling you that yours is expired when you never had one to begin with.”
Whoever sent the letters used information from public records to get people’s names and addresses to target them with the letters.
Anderson shared some information published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about common methods scammers use and how to catch them. Here is a summary of some common scams, and more information can be found online at ftc.gov/PassItOn.

• Money mule scams: These scams can involve a job offer, a sweepstakes or an online relationship, but they want you to send them money, or transfer money, by wiring it or buying gift cards. Depositing a scammer’s check, if they send you one, might clear, but if the bank finds out it’s fake, you’ll have to repay the bank. On top of that, if the money you moved was stolen, you could face legal consequences. If someone asks you to move money for them, don’t do it, even if they really are a Nigerian Prince (a classic scam).
• Tech support scams: Scammers might send you an email, or you may see a pop-up message on the computer saying that your computer is infected with a virus, and it might even appear to be from a legitimate company like Apple or Microsoft. Don’t ever call phone numbers or click links, as that could give the scammer access to all of your sensitive information.
• Online dating scams: Some scammers will create a fake online account on a dating website or social media in an attempt to form a fake relationship with someone so they can ask them for money. They may claim that money is for a plane ticket, an emergency or some other urgent situation. The scammer will always claim to be busy and traveling a lot, whether for business, the military or some other made-up purpose. They will likely avoid any attempt to meet in person, making up excuses at the last minute to keep up their ruse. Never send money to an online “love interest” in any way, whether it’s a prepaid card, debit card or cash or any other method of transferring money.
• Grandkid scams: The scam caller will claim to be your grandchild or other relative claiming that they’re in trouble and need you to send them money for an emergency, such as needing bail money after being arrested or needing some money to pay an emergency medical bill. The caller will likely ask you not to tell anyone and to keep it a secret because they’re “embarrassed.” Scammers can impersonate the names of people you may know, so be sure to check the phone number or email address the call or message came from. If you don’t have the actual phone number or email address of the supposed relative, you should find out what it really is and check with them first, but don’t ever send money.
• Some ways to spot money wiring scams include: Someone you don’t know asking you to wire money by claiming you’ve won a prize or you’ve won the lottery, claiming to be a relative who’s in trouble, claiming that you need to pay for something you ordered online before they send it or you got a check for too much money and they need you to return the extra amount. All of these are scams. Never wire money to someone you don’t know, no matter what they say. If you’re in doubt, call your bank, especially if they tell you not to.
• Health care scams: These can take the form of TV commercials about a new law requiring you to get a new health care card, a call about getting a discount on health insurance or someone claiming to be from the government who needs your Medicare number. These scams are common around Medicare open season or when health care shows up in the news. These scammers are after things like your social security number and other important financial information. Just say no and hang up. It’s a scam. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE to double check.
• Charity fraud: The scammer will call you asking for a donation to a fake charity. They will likely pressure you to send them money quickly, using their fake cause to pressure you into giving quickly. They probably won’t tell you many details about the charity itself or what your money will go toward. They may thank you for a donation or pledge you never even made to try and throw you off and trick you into sending money. Be sure to do research on the charity. Ask them to send you something in the mail. If they just want you to send money, it’s probably a scam. Someone calling to ask for donations to any sort of police/first responder foundation is a common example of a charity scam.  Do not send them any money.
• Identity theft: A scammer has already stolen your private information and starts buying things using your social security or Medicare number, credit card or insurance information. If you start getting bills for things you never bought or seeing withdrawals you never made, or any other unexpected expenses or charges, contact your bank immediately. To prevent identity theft, make sure to keep that information private. Shred documents that contain that information, never give out your social security number unless you have to and use strong passwords online. Be sure to keep an eye on your credit score and monthly statements. You can get a free credit report once per year by calling 1-877-322-8228 or visiting AnnualCreditReport.com.
• Work from home scams: These scams can take the form of an ad telling you can make a lot of money by working from home or starting an online business. It could also involve a scammer who saw your resume on a job search website but asks for your driver’s license and bank account numbers before the interview, which a legitimate employer would never ask for. If you accept the job, the scammer will ask for money for training, a special “proven” program you need to start working or some other special service, but none of it is real. Don’t pay money to earn money or share information until you’ve done some research. An easy way to find out if it’s a scam is to get online and search for the name of the supposed “company” followed by words like “scam,” “review” or “complaint.”
• Imposter scams: The scammer pretends to be someone they’re not, like someone from Publisher’s Clearing House, for example, saying you won a prize of some sort. They could be pretending to be a government official or a family member, or even someone you feel like you might know but haven’t met in person, like someone you met online. Once again, they’re just trying to get you to send them money or personal information. Contact the real person, company, government organization or someone you trust to get the truth. Government agencies won’t ever ask you to wire…