Community banks fight back, one scam at a time

If you think you’re being scammed, you’re in good company. In 2024, the FBI reported alarming increases in both frequency and financial impact of online fraud. Locally, community banks are seeing an uptick as well and are stepping up efforts to protect their customers.

All three banks in Lovell train their staff to spot suspicious transactions. Most of the training is conducted online, but according to First Bank of Wyoming teller Jazmyn Henton, the best knowledge comes from experience. Henton, a teller at the bank for 2½ years, has taken a personal interest in learning everything she can to protect her customers from scams. She said her job is made much more complicated due to the prevalence of scams.

“When I first started working as a teller, I didn’t realize how complicated this part of the job would be,” she said. “We do a lot here to protect our clients. We are the first line of defense against scams for our customers. We care about our customers and do everything we can to protect them.”

Henton encourages customers to use tellers at their local bank as a resource. Most of all, trust them, she said.

“Trust someone you can meet with in person over someone you’ve never met in person who contacted you through the internet,” she said. “We see a lot and are here to help. Don’t hide from us. We don’t judge. We’re just here to help. Scams can happen to anybody.”

First Bank of Wyoming Branch Manager Charis Bischoff added, “We are trained to look for patterns. Whenever possible, we try to verify where the money is going. We do things like double check the routing number on a suspicious check to make sure it is legitimate. We bring anything suspicious to the customer’s attention. If we see enough red flags, we turn it over to the police department.”

Bischoff said the entire staff at First Bank is well-trained, some participating in online seminars up to four times per year. She said some make it their mission to learn as much as they can about scams in their spare time. She agreed with Henton that experience is the greatest path to knowledge. Sharing this knowledge with customers gives them the tools to protect themselves, she said.

“It’s all about gut feeling,” she explained. “Knowing your customer is also a big part of it. Knowing what’s normal for a particular customer and recognizing patterns is key to spotting scams. Having a good relationship with the customer is also important. Sometimes they just tell you what’s going on because of that relationship.”

Bischoff noted if someone is “hell-bent” on following a scammer’s orders, it’s hard to stop them. In those cases, it’s common for people to get defensive when questioned about a suspicious transaction.

“It’s seems like the nicer people have an easier time believing the scammer,” she said, noting that elderly people are particularly vulnerable. 

At Bank of Lovell, Mary Mathews said she has watched scams “ebb and flow” in her 20 plus years of experience of fielding customer inquiries as new accounts manager. She noted certain scams are more common than others, like romance scams, phony lottery or other contest winning scams, fraudulent checks for more than the amount due, gift card balance scams, imposter schemes that imitate authorities like police, IRS, social security, other official agencies and even bank officials. She said she encounters new scams almost every day along with variations on common scams. She said one variation she’s seen recently is the combination of crypto currency schemes with romance scams. In fact, she’s seen an increase in customer inquiries about crypto in general, especially from senior citizens.

Like the other banks in town, Bank of Lovell trains its tellers to be hyper-vigilant regarding suspicious transactions and to take action if necessary.

“We don’t really pay attention to the names of the scams,” said Bank of Lovell’s branch president Mike Jones. “We pay attention to how they work and what they’re trying to get from people. So, when we sit down with a customer we ask a lot of questions to determine what is going on. We’ve trained our tellers and front line people to ask questions and we certainly do ask a lot of questions if something doesn’t look right.”

Jones said the bank will take extreme measures to protect customers whenever possible.

“There are certain regulations governing cash transactions that we put into place if we think the transaction looks suspicious,” he explained. “We can and will refuse to do the transaction, if it looks suspicious. I’ve even told people who still insist on doing the transaction they can take the money and do it (the transaction) somewhere else because we will not do it here.”

Officials interviewed at other banks had similar policies and expressed a similar sentiment.

At Big Horn Federal Bank in Lovell, President Joseph Shumway said, like other banks in town, his staff receives online training. He said the customers most susceptible to scams are those who are lonely, kind-hearted and/or fearful. He noted that scams are a “psychological game” that involve highly evolved tactics employed by well-trained scammers who will often work in teams to get a victim to part with cash.

Shumway said all of the bank’s front-line staff complete online training, at least once a year, sometimes more. He also said the best knowledge comes from daily experience.

He said often a casual conversation between a customer and an inquisitive teller can be very revealing. He said a big indicator is if a customer is evasive when chatting with the teller about a suspicious transaction.

“I think sometimes people are worried they will be in trouble or get someone else in trouble,” he explained. “A lot of times the scammer has told them not to talk to anyone about it. Sometimes, the scammer is even on the phone coaching the customer during the transaction.”

He said an individual scammer’s ability to manipulate becomes more effective over time with experience. An experienced scammer can exert an enormous amount a pressure on a victim, causing them to make a hasty decision that can potentially devastate them emotionally and financially.

Shumway said the best defense for those being scammed is to talk to someone they know and trust. If threatened, call law enforcement immediately. If at all possible, verify the person is who they say they are. For example, if they say they are calling from the police department, hang up and call a phone number you know is the number for the police department. Or, better yet, go there in person. He also advised not to answer any phone call from an unfamiliar phone number. And, of course, when in doubt consult with the people you know and trust at your community bank staff.

“I’ve seen some terrible, tragic things happen to people as a result of these scams,” said Shumway. “I’ve even seen people get scammed who I would have never thought could get scammed. Everyone has a gut instinct. Trust it.”