Banks Will Never Ask for Confidential Information

          The Pennsylvania Bankers Association (PA Bankers) announced this week that banks across the commonwealth are seeing an uptick in phishing scams targeting their customers via phone, email and text messages.

          These phishing scams are communications designed to trick consumers into providing confidential information (like account numbers, passwords or PINS) either online or over the phone to someone impersonating a bank employee. Victims of phishing scams can lose hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

          The association, and its member banks, urge consumers to remember the following:

          Banks will never ask for your personal information via phone, text or email. You may be asked to verify confidential information if you call your bank, but banks will never call you to ask for this information. If you receive an incoming call from someone claiming to be your bank, the safest thing you can do is hang up and call your bank's publicly listed customer service number.

          If you receive a suspicious email or text, do not download any attachments, click on any links or reply to the sender. Report the email or text by forwarding emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org and text messages to SPAM (7726). Finally, report the phishing attack to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

          If you receive a suspicious phone call, hang up or end the call and do not respond to the caller's requests.

          If you feel that you have been the victim of a scam and may have provided personal or important financial information, contact your bank immediately via their publicly listed customer service number. Often, this is found on the back of your bank card. Be sure to include any relevant details, such as whether the suspicious caller attempted to impersonate your bank and whether any personal or financial information was provided to the suspicious caller.

          "PA Bankers and its member banks take consumers' financial well-being seriously," said Duncan Campbell, PA Bankers' president and CEO. "Banks are constantly working hard to protect their customers' money through a variety of safeguards, but one of the most effective ways to prevent consumers from falling victim to phishing scams is through continued education.

          "The easiest way to spot a phishing scam is to remember that 'Banks Never Ask That.' When something looks or sounds suspicious, it likely is," said Campbell.