Last week it was First National Bank and Trust. This week the bank scam asking ATM and debit card customers to give information over the phone has affected customers of the Bank of Bridger group, which has banks in Lovell and Greybull.

But this time there’s twist. Whereas most of the First National customers received a computer message claiming to be from First National Bank and Trust, the Bank of Bridger/Lovell/Greybull customers have been receiving text messages on their cell phones and e-mails on their computers, as well as telephone calls.

The response from local bank managers to customers remains the same: never give out personal information over the phone when solicited to do so.

Bank of Lovell Assistant Vice President Mike Steenbakkers said people in the area started receiving text messages on their cell phones Sunday stating that there were problems with their ATM or debit card and to reply or call a phone number with their account number.

The messages typically state that customers need to re-activate their ATM or debit card, which was purportedly closed due to recent fraud activity, or restore their online banking that has been temporarily suspended.

Then on Monday, people in the area started receiving e-mails with a Bank of Bridger logo on them.

A typical message reads as follows:
“Dear Customer,
“This email is to inform you that your online account has been temporarily suspended. Reason: Identity Verification. In order to continue using the Online Banking, please verify your profile. Unlocking your profile will take approximately one minute to complete.
“To continue, click here, complete the login form with your security information.
“For security reasons, we recommend you do not save your online password using your browser auto complete function.
“Copyright 2009/Bank of Bridger, N.A. All rights reserved.”
The e-mail looks official, but isn’t Steenbakkers said.
“We don’t need to ask our customers for account numbers or security codes,” he said. “We have access to our system, so there’s no need to ask them for their numbers or codes.
“They try to scare people and make people assume they’ll be liable or out a bunch of money.”
Steenbakkers said that, by Tuesday, the bank had also heard of customers receiving telephone messages like those received last week by First National customers and others.

The key message from the bank is this, as stated in a fraud alert generated by the bank: “Please remember, a financial institution will never ask for financial information over the phone.”
Such information would never be solicited by the bank under any circumstances, Steenbakkers said, reminding customers to never give that kind of information over the phone, via e-mail or via text messaging.

“We recorded several numbers, all from various states, some of which were linked to phone messaging systems and others that were tied back to unsuspecting legitimate businesses,” the bank said in its fraud alert. “We also received returned e-mails that were fraudulent.

“This sort of activity, which is referred to as ‘vishing,’ is a form of social engineering over the phone system, cellular phone, or computer using text messaging or e-mails in order to manipulate the customer to gain access to private personal or financial information.”
The fraud alert then explains how the process works.

For more information, contact the Bank of Lovell at 548-2213 or the Bank of Greybull at 765-4437.