By David Peck

Officials of a local bank are reminding customers to never give out personal information over the phone in the wake of a telephone scam that has struck the region in recent days.
First National Bank and Trust Vice President Dave Reetz and Compliance Officer Linda Kolpitcke said Monday that hundreds of people in the Lovell, Powell and Cody area, as well as points south and north, have been contacted by scammers seeking information.
The computer message claiming to be from First National informs the recipient that his or her ATM or debit card has been deactivated and asks for personal information about the card to be entered on the telephone keypad to “reactivate” the card.
“Please do not ever provide this type of information to someone contacting you via telephone, text messages or e-mail. This is a scam,” First National warned in a message to customers Monday on the bank Website.
Added Kolpitcke in an interview Monday, “Never ever, ever provide information when contacted unsolicited. We would never do that.”
People have been apparently randomly selected by the phone scam, Reetz said, but the scam has reached hundreds of people in the northern Big Horn Basin.
“It happened to a different bank in Billings, too,” Reetz said. “It’s just another reason for people to be extra alert to unsolicited calls.”
The calls appear to be initiated from numbers all over the United States, Reetz said, but they appear to be made from a local number because the scammers are using Caller ID “spoofing,” where a number different than the scammer’s number appears on the Caller ID screen.
“You shouldn’t rely on Caller ID to verify the validity of a call,” Reetz said.
Reetz said the bank assures customers that their customer data has not been compromised by the scam unless the person gave information over the phone. If a person did key in information, he or she should contact the bank immediately, and the bank can take steps to minimize the risk, Reetz said. Local law enforcement authorities have also been notified, he said.
For more information, customers may stop by their local bank or call any of the bank locations in the Big Horn Basin.