Beware of Financial Scams and Attempts to Steal Your Information

Every year, fraudsters develop new and innovative ways to attempt to steal your personal information. While it can be hard to recognize a scam attempt right away, there are some telltale signs to watch for.

Indications of a scam can include, but are not limited to:

• Messages that contain poor grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Promotional offers that seem incredibly generious.
• Messaging that pressures recipients to act quickly.
• Unexpected communications asking you to provide sensitive information, such as passwords or access codes.
• Solicitations that demand you provide upfront payments for a service or product.
• Requests to pay for a product using unusual payment methods, such as gift cards, wire transfers, money orders or payment apps.

Below are several common scams used by fraudsters today and tips on how you can spot them to avoid financial loss and protect yourself from fraud and identity theft:

Phishing: A fraudster may send you a seemingly legitimate email, text or social media message that includes malicious attachments or links and prompt you to enter personal information, such as a username, password or social security number.

Phone scams: A scammer makes an unsolicited call posing as a representative of a charitable organization, tech support company or bank. The scammer will attempt to convince you to provide your account number, debit or credit card number, or other type of sensitive, confidential information.

Imposter scams: Someone may contact you and impersonate a family member, friend or authority figure, often presenting an urgent situation with the intent to extort money.

Payment scams: An email or text message indicates you must pay an additional fee to receive a package, or that you have an outstanding toll or traffic ticket that must be paid immediately.

Social media shopping scams: A seller offers an unbelievably low price or provides little to no information about a product that you will never receive.

Romance or catfishing scams: Someone contacts you online seeking a romantic relationship in hopes of building a level of trust with you. Then, they may pressure you to provide them with money or personal account information.

What to do if you fall for a scam

Indicators that your financial information may have been compromised include:

• Unauthorized transactions or withdrawals from your bank account.
• Communications from your bank stating an account, loan or credit card was opened in your name when you have not recently opened or applied for an account.
• Bills for items or services you did not purchase.

If you suspect you have fallen victim to a scam, immediately report it to your financial institution and local law enforcement. Include how the scammer contacted you and what personal information you provided them. You may also want to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission and a credit reporting agency, such as Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. It is a good practice to routinely review and monitor your accounts and credit reports for suspicious activity.

Staying vigilant

The best way to avoid falling victim to a scam is to remain vigilant. Never share your information with an unknown or suspicious individual. If you are unsure of the identity of a caller, hang up and call the number back yourself. If a suspicious message provides you with a number, do not contact that number; instead, validate contact information of banks and financial institutions yourself using publicly available sources such as the internet. If you receive a text or social media message from an unknown sender, do not open attachments or click any links. Delete the message and report it to your service provider.

If you receive unsolicited emails, calls, or text or social media messages allegedly from a financial institution requesting account passwords or login credentials, do not provide your information. Report the incident immediately to your bank and local law enforcement. To learn more about how you can protect your financial information, visit trustmark.com/fraudprevention.