Be Alert for Fraud!
A TowneBank member recently went through a stressful time because of a shrewd fraudster. But thanks to vigilant Towne family members, the fraud was caught before any financial damages occurred.
Here is the scenario:
The fraudster gained access to the member’s cell phone number and then contacted the member’s cell phone company to have his calls and emails forwarded to him. The member could make calls, send texts and emails, but all incoming calls, texts, and emails were rerouted to the fraudster.
He used a burner phone to try to change the member’s TowneBank password, but he failed the qualifying questions.
Online banking alerted the member’s banker, Alice Joyce, in the Myers Park office in Charlotte. “I called our member to alert him, but the person who answered did not sound like our member,” Alice says. “I then followed up with an email. He texted me and said the email popped up and then disappeared. That’s when I realized his phone had been hacked.”
In the meantime, the fraudster was attempting to make a wire transfer. Again, he failed the authentication questions. “We called the member to alert him on his phone as well as the burner phone. The same person answered who was not our member,” Alice says. “We then called the member’s business partner to ask our member to come to the branch as soon as possible to straighten everything out.”
“Our member was very appreciative of everything we did to help keep his accounts safe,” Alice continues. “He related to me that the fraudster might have gotten away with his scheme at another bank, but it didn’t happen here because we know our members.”
“I am proud of our Charlotte team for being alert and looking out for our member and our bank,” says Ted Wolfe, Charlotte president. “This is a great example of the value we bring as we treat our members like family.”
Please be safe out there. Fraudsters are continuing to try new methods to commit their crimes. TowneBank has many features in place to safeguard your accounts. We also have detailed information about various types of fraud on our website. Visit TowneBank.com/FraudCenter