Banks play a crucial role when it comes to informing people on the dangers of phishing scams. The #BanksNeverAskThat campaign, launched earlier this year by the South Dakota Banking Association (SDBA), aimed to accomplish spread awareness and offer tips to avoid fraudsters.
“Scams are ever-present; they’re here every day,” Madison Police Chief Justin Meyer said. “We take multiple calls a week from people asking or letting us know that they’ve been contacted by scammers.”
While banks have an important job in protecting their customers, local police departments are another resource for anyone who has fallen victim to a scam, or even those who merely need to ask questions.
Like the SDBA, Meyer believes that communication is vital in navigating these scams.
“If somebody is receiving these calls, we encourage them to let us know,” he said.
Phishing scams come in many forms, but they all aim to deceive. If someone is having concerns that they’re being scammed, taking the time to ask questions can be critical to dodging financial woes.
For those who have fallen for a scam, Meyer advises reaching out to the police department for an informational report before filing a complaint through the Internet Crime Complaint Center. These complaints are processed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and compiled by similar nature and loss. Once enough evidence is gathered, a full investigation on the fraudster can begin.
Meyer also encourages victims to file credit reports through each of the three major agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. This can be done at no cost every 30 days and serves to ensure no loans or credit cards were taken out under their name.
“If you’re not seeing activity at that 90-day mark, you’re more than likely not going to have issues,” he added, “but it’s always about being vigilant and making sure you’re doing your due diligence.
“If you believe your Social Security number has been compromised, you can call the Social Security Administration and have that red-flagged for a period of time,” he continued.
This creates additional steps of verification that make it much more difficult for scammers to take out fraudulent loans or lines of credit.
These methods, along with directly contacting one’s bank, are all valuable tools in scam prevention. However, the best is still simple awareness. Staying conscious of how these fraudsters trick people is a sure-fire method of avoiding the problem altogether, especially when retrieving any lost funds can be nearly impossible.
“A lot of times, what we find is that if someone has transferred money to a different bank account, as soon as that money hits the account, it’s transferred out, and that bank account is closed,” Meyer said. “Then we’re at a dead-end because we don’t know where the money has gone.”
With recovery options being so limited, people should take special care with who they send money to and never divulge personal information to suspicious sources.
Meyer noted that these scams tend to circle back with new twists over time, so remaining up to date on how to recognize them is paramount.
Meyer also said that despite their frequency, some scams go unreported due to hesitancy or personal embarrassment from the victim. Many scams rely on emotional manipulation, so it can be difficult for victims to come to terms with the idea that they’re being mistreated.
“A lot of these tug at the heart-strings,” he said. “It’s hard for people to get around the fact that what they believe in their heart isn’t true.”
This is why communication is key, he added — so people can keep themselves safe.
“Sometimes you have to have somebody from an outside perspective look at it,” Meyer said, “and that can go a long way.”{/div}
