A Letter from My Bank
Yesterday, I was doing some online banking when I saw an article warning me about fraud attempts, phishing, vishing, and smishing. And many of the safety tips my bank wrote about reminded me of the many articles we have written in our attempt to keep all our readers and subscribers safe.
So, in our continuing efforts to keep you safe, and as a reminder of the online safety tips we often write about, I decided to share my bank’s safety tips with you. After all, you can’t be too careful — and you can’t be too safe. And whether it’s my bank or yours, these tips will help keep you safe.
The following is courtesy of Key Bank…
Recognize, Avoid and Report Common Fraud Attempts by Phone, Email and Text (vishing/phishing/smishing)
As our lives become more digitally driven, we are seeing increased attempts to defraud bank clients through phone calls, email and text messages. Criminals are finding new ways of committing fraud through scam attempts that play on your emotions and seek to gain your trust. Fortunately, with the right information, you can more reliably determine if you’re being targeted and successfully report fraud.
Today’s scams are made to look legitimate, and the scammers will often have information that make them seem real. They often know certain details about you and your accounts and sound like actual bank employees, so they can be hard to detect as criminals.
To be prepared and help avoid becoming a victim of these common scams, use this important information and report any fraud attempts you may encounter:
KeyBank will NEVER contact you and ask for personal information by text, email, or an unsolicited phone call. This includes unsolicited calls that ask you for your username, password, a one-time passcode, social security number, account numbers, or answers to security questions.
Suspicious Emails.
Beware of suspicious-looking email addresses, even if the sender seems familiar. Never open links or attachments in emails you don’t fully trust or that you were not expecting (for example scanned documents or faxes). Use the information below to report email scams that pretend to be KeyBank asking for your personal or account information.
Suspicious Text Messages.
Beware of texts from outside your saved contacts. Fraudulent texts may appear to come from a bank and ask you to log in or verify transactions or to provide your login details. Don’t provide personal or account information. Call KeyBank directly at the number below if you have questions or concerns about fraud.
Using Mobile Apps and Social Media.
Watch for requests for money you receive in apps or on social media. What feels like a real chat could be a scam.
Suspicious Phone Calls.
If you don’t recognize the number, think twice about picking up. Scammers can mimic local area codes to get you to answer. It is important to remember that cybercriminals have several ways to access cell phone numbers, so you should never assume that you’ve given your number to someone contacting you on your cell phone.
Identifying Fraudulent Texts
Text messages are one of several legitimate ways KeyBank may contact clients. One example of a legitimate text you might receive from KeyBank would be to provide a KeyBank Fraud Alert of a potentially suspicious card-related transaction. In that case, the text message will include specific information about the transaction in question with response options you can make by text or phone to confirm or deny the transaction…
Typically, suspicious and fraudulent text messages are unsolicited but appear to come from a legitimate source that wants you to provide important security or account access information. Fraudulent text messages often include a request to take action by following a link or by calling a telephone number. You may also receive a call from the fraudster requesting additional information…
this is a letter i got from Revenue Canada, with only an email address, which I very rarely use
-Hi diaca1@hotmail.com ,
-Canada Revenue Agency(CRA) sent you $618.48 (CAD).
-Details of the Transfer:
-Reference Number: 33ynp22-CA
-Deposit your money at:
Canadian Imperial Bank Of Commerce (CIBC)
Royal Bank Of Canada
Bank Of Montreal
ScotiaBank
Or a different financial institution
-Expires: September 04, 2022
-Please do not reply to this email.
-This email was sent to you by Interac Corp.
-P.O. Box 94, Toronto, Ontario M5J 484
® Trade-mark of Interac Corp. Used under license.
This is not from your bank-it’s a scam email.