Fraud Education – Phishing Scams

Every day, a staggering number of individuals, often in the thousands, fall prey to the threat of phishing scams. These scams, which can result in potential losses of hundreds or even thousands of dollars, involve deceptive emails, texts, or calls that appear to be from familiar sources. The goal is to trick recipients into clicking on harmful links or divulging personal information such as passwords, credit card details, or social security numbers. The consequences can be severe, leading to both financial and identity theft.

Here's how fraudsters execute these scams:

• They may impersonate trusted sources such as banks, government agencies, or individuals.
• They may possess personal details about you, such as your date of birth or passwords, to make their messages appear legitimate.
• They may create urgency by claiming immediate action is necessary to protect your account, assist a family member, or verify login credentials.
• They may request sensitive information like passwords or bank account numbers or ask you to click on links that can install malicious software, compromising your personal or financial data.

Consider some simple precautions to protect yourself:

• Enable multifactor authentication where possible.
• Immediately change compromised passwords and avoid reuse.
• Keep your computer and mobile security updated and regularly back up data.
• Never respond to unsolicited emails requesting detailed financial information; verify the sender's identity.
• Verify the legitimacy of requests before acting and look for misspellings or inaccuracies in the email address or website (i.e., an email may say it's coming from "Facebook," and then the email address has a Hotmail domain instead of Meta).
• Avoid clicking on links in emails from unexpected senders. Instead, manually type the company's URL and communicate with organizations directly using verified contact details.
• Report suspicious emails to your internet provider if the email comes through your personal inbox or to your employer's IT department if the email comes through your work inbox.

If you believe you've disclosed sensitive financial information through a phishing scam:

• Immediately contact your financial institution.
  • First Mid's Fraud Support team can be reached at 833-488-4723.
• Visit the FBI fraud website at www.ic3.gov to report phishing emails or suspicious websites.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or 1-877-382-4357.
• Contact the three major credit bureaus and request a fraud alert be placed on your credit report.
  • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
  • Experian: 1-888-397-3742
  • TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

Learn more about fraud and other scams on our website here.

Source:

• American Bankers Association