Banks often help customers prevent fraud while law enforcement investigates scams after they occur. Those two perspectives came together June 25 when First Texas Bank partnered with the Round Rock Police Department to host a free fraud prevention seminar at the bank’s Round Rock location.
“Everyone thinks that scams aren’t gonna happen to them, but it’s very easy that it could,” said Mariah Madewell, senior VP over Deposit Operations at First Texas Bank. “Fraud affects everyone. It goes across all backgrounds.”
Ms. Madewell and Lacey Guthrie, assistant VP of Marketing at First Texas, put the event together with Detective Todd Spradlin at the Round Rock Police Department.
Ms. Guthrie said that “bringing police into programs can add some more credibility” to the threats of scams.
Five signs of scams:
- Unsolicited contact
- Requests for personal information
- Offers that seem too good to be true
- Pressure to act immediately
- Demands for unusual/ specific payments.
Common scams:
- Impersonating tech support
- Phishing
- Staged emergency
- Pretending to be government/law enforcement
- Debt collection
“It’s okay to be rude,” Mr. Spradlin said, when talking about confronting suspected scammers. “It’s okay to be paranoid.”
For residents that think they’re being targeted for a scam, his strongest advice was to hang up the phone and to do research into the situation. Call someone who would be credible to the situation. Do not pay while on the phone or engage in unusual payment methods such as Bitcoin, gift cards, etc.
Also, to pay close attention to the web links shared with you, and confirm if they’re legit. If an email or link is shared, the link’s URL should match with the preview and name of the entity. Slight changes in spelling or wording oftentimes show the link is fake.
He stressed that, in most scenarios that scammers use as a front, officials from those companies or groups — such as law enforcement and tech support — would almost never reach out to an individual directly.
While some claims of debt collection might be true and indicate that you have been a victim of identity theft, it is still advised to call a Police Department or Credit Bureaus to confirm the information yourself.
Mr. Spradlin also suggested keeping social media accounts private and avoiding advertising any personal information online. Scammers tend to research their victims beforehand, and personal or family information that’s found publicly on social media can make you a target.
Highlighting the importance of prevention, Mr. Spradlin compared these steps of protection to looking both ways to cross the road.
First Texas handed out pamphlets on identity theft following the presentation.
First Texas Bank tries to host free fraud presentations events every few months and for anyone ready to hear. The June 25 event was the fourth of its kind this year, and the bank’s 11 Central Texas locations are holding events like these hoping to spread awareness to the community. Events are normally marketed towards seniors, but are open to all. Coffee and snacks are offered.
“Everytime even two people hear about [fraud prevention], it’s a win,” Ms. Madewell said.