It’s important to be vigilant against identity theft, frauds, and scams. Today’s technology has made it easier for hackers to gather your personal information, leaving you susceptible to theft.
So what can you do to help protect yourself from scammers and fraudsters?
To find out, we sat down with Kimberly Reece, Regions Bank Customer Advocacy Manager for their Enterprise Fraud Management Group, to find out about the various methods used..
Romance Scams
“Romance scams happen year-round,” she said. “We do see more of an uptick around Valentine's Day, but it certainly can happen at any time.”
She said romance scammers prey on people’s emotions.
“Emotions, vulnerability, and affection, “she said. “They’ll create fake profiles on social media or on a dating platform, and that's how they start reaching out to their victims. Once someone accepts their friend request or their match, they really start to try to build trust, even sometimes sympathy and they're pretty convincing. They appear very genuine and caring and attractive, but ultimately, and as with all scams, the goal is to gain access to a customer's finances or their financial banking information.”
She said these types of scams can happen to anyone.
“It doesn't discriminate on age or income,” she said.
She said the staff at Regions Bank provide quality broad education to help their customers and the broader community stay informed on the latest schemes and to recognize the warning signs.
“Whether it's romance scam or something else,” she said. “Because fraud education and awareness really are the keys to prevention. Educated clients are more likely to recognize a fraud attack and really prevent it before it becomes a loss.”
When it comes to romance scams she said to be wary if the person you connect with on a dating platform immediately wants to move the conversation to a personal cell phone or email.
“That can be a red flag,” she said. “They will also typically share photos with you but not be willing to get on a video chat or a live call where you can see them. They're very quick to profess their love, even if they've never met you in person or you’ve only talked to them a few times. They suddenly love you.”
Reece said the scammer tend to use words of endearment like calling you sweetheart or honey.
“Because these scammers are often juggling several victims at a time, and so it's easier for them to use those sorts of generic terms than keep up with individual names,” she said. “The biggest red flag, again, for romance scams and all scams in general, is that there is an urgent need for money. Either a family or a medical emergency, maybe they're traveling and they're stranded.”
Reece said the scammer may say they want to finally meet you in person but asks you to send them money to help with travel expenses. She said these scammers are willing to commit to the scam for months, if needed, to develop trust with their victims.
Smishing and Phishing
Other quickly growing scams are targeting your emails and cellphones.
Fraudulent emails, text messages, and websites designed to elicit your personal information can be sophisticated and deceiving. Fraudulent emails and texts, known as “phishing” or “smishing” can look like they’re coming from your personal bank, or financial institutions.
Reece said some scammers will call your cellphone and pose as a representative of a bank, credit card company or other official capacity and try to gather your personal information over the phone.
“We advise people to not click on links they receive by texts or emails,” she said. “Always use a trusted source. Go to the actual website or find the published phone number for that institution. If someone calls you saying they’re from the bank and starts asking for personal information don’t give them the information. Hang up, call or visit your nearest bank branch to see if there is a real issue with your account.”
More importantly if you think you’ve been scammed, report it immediately.
“If you're a victim or you believe you're a victim, it's really important to act quickly,” she said. “Sometimes people are embarrassed or they don't want to mention it because they can’t believe they fell for the scam but it’s important to act quickly. Call your bank or financial institution, if you've shared any personal information so that they can take steps to help you protect that information.”
Reece said victims should also:
- File a police report
- File a report with FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3 .gov
- File a report with Federal Trade Commission: consumer.ftc.gov/identity-theft-and-online-security/identity-theft
- If the scam was online through a dating platform, report the profile directly to the app’s provider.
Reece said the harsh reality is that once your money has been taken it is extremely rare to get any of the funds returned.
“We have a ton of resources on our website on our fraud prevention page,” she said. “We encourage folks to visit that, but they can sit down with our bank staff who are also equipped to have those conversations.”
Regions Bank customers can secure their accounts by setting up online and mobile banking alerts and can use Regions’ LockIt card control. This control gives you the power to customize how your Regions personal credit cards, debit cards, prepaid Now Cards and ATM cards can be used.
There are 21 Regions Bank branches in Southeast Tennessee, Hamilton County, North Georgia, Bradley, and Rhea Counties, making it easy to find financial guidance year-round. You don’t have to have an account with Regions Bank to have access to their valuable resources and knowledgeable staff.
Learn more about protecting your identity at: regions.com/fraud-prevention