Recovering from a Scam Attack

While you might think you’ll never fall victim to a financial scam, it can happen to anyone. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has reported that billions of dollars were lost to fraud in 2024, and that number is increasing as scammers are becoming more sophisticated in how they attack. Even the most vigilant can be fooled, which is why it is important to know the appropriate steps to take if you fall victim to a scam or fraudulent activity.

Recognize you have fallen for a scam

It can be hard to detect fraudulent activity, which can come in many forms. Below are some common warning signs that may indicate something could be amiss:

• Unusual or unauthorized transactions made through your financial accounts.
• Communications about account openings that you do not recall/did not make.
• Alerts from your bank about suspicious activity on your account.
• Your accounts are no longer accessible/passwords were changed.

If you suspect your accounts or personal information have been compromised, thoroughly review your statements for anything out of the ordinary. If any unusual activity is found, such as any of the items listed above, it is likely that you have been targeted by a scam. Record any suspicious transactions, dates or incident details that will aid you in making an official report to the appropriate parties.

Take action immediately

Speed is a necessity when dealing with scams. The longer you delay taking action, the harder it becomes to recover from fraud and more likely it is you will incur damages that may have been preventable.

Before anything else, if you believe your financial information is at risk, contact your bank or financial institution and put a hold on or close your account(s). If someone gained access to your debit or credit card information and made unauthorized purchases or transfers from your account, it may be possible for your bank or credit card company to stop the transactions.

If you sent a wire transfer to someone and learned it was fraudulent, contact the institution that originated the transfer, whether it was a bank or a wire transfer company. Other money transfer or payment methods, like money transfer apps or checks, can potentially be stopped, though it may be more difficult. As a general rule, it is never advised to send cash through the mail.

If you accidentally gave out your personal information to someone, update any accounts that utilize this information. Corrective actions may include changing your usernames, passwords, security questions and other account details.

Contact the proper authorities

After contacting your financial institution, report the scam to the appropriate authorities. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) tracks trending scams, and by reporting a scam, you can help them build cases against scammers and keep the public in the know. You can file a report with the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Additionally, you should report the incident to your local police. Many states have fraud reporting hotlines that need information on fraudulent activity to better prevent it. You can also submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau online for financial product and service-related scams at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

Safeguard your information

Don’t let your confidential information fall into the wrong hands. Be cautious when sharing sensitive details and note that fraudsters can attempt to scam you more than once. If you think a communication looks or sounds suspicious, pause and confirm its authenticity. Some helpful tips to keep in mind are:

• Verifying the identity of anyone contacting you before providing personal information or account details (including credit/debit card numbers). If someone claims to be from your bank, a government entity or even someone you know, take a moment to ensure they are who they claim to be. One way to verify identity is to call the person back on an official, known number.
• Slowing down when dealing with money. Urgency is a classic sign of a scam attempt. If someone is asking you to initiate a transaction as quickly as possible, double-check that everything is legitimate.
• Watching for clues of phishing. If a seemingly legitimate email, text or social media message is sent to you with misspellings and grammatical errors, it may be a scam. Never click on any link without first verifying its authenticity.
• Enrolling in an online banking app, like myTrustmark^®. You can set up alerts for your bank account(s) to keep you informed of any activity that involves your finances. With myTrustmark, you can control the type and frequency of alerts you want to receive, such as notifications for transactions over a certain amount or unusual activity on your account.

At Trustmark, we believe the privacy and security of our customers’ information is of utmost importance. We will never request confidential information via email, text, phone or social media; however, we may ask you for your information to verify your identity if you call us. If you receive any unsolicited emails, text messages or phone calls allegedly from Trustmark requesting confidential information, contact us immediately at 800.243.2524, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. CT.