Fight Fraud: Know What Your Bank Won’t Ask You

According to recent Federal Trade Commission reporting, Americans lost nearly $667 million to imposter scams and $1.9 billion overall to fraud in 2019 (a 28% increase from 2018)—and early reports indicate those numbers will be much higher for 2020. Unfortunately, whether businesses or consumers, no one is fully immune to criminal imposters or other attempted fraud (e.g., ). This is primarily because fraudsters are adept at getting people to provide them with sensitive information about their consumer or business accounts.

Two of the most important ways to avoid becoming a victim of fraud are knowing the red flags of being targeted and understanding the kinds of information your bank will never call and ask you to provide.

Here’s What Fraudsters Want from You

Around the world, criminals actively target customers at all income levels to access and drain financial accounts. One of the easiest ways for them to get that access from you is by posing as your bank or an employee at your bank and exploiting the trust between both parties.

Specifically, fraudsters are increasingly posing as bankers with a seemingly legitimate, often urgent, reason for reaching out to customers and requesting sensitive information. When successful, these scams often result in identity theft, business disruptions, and monetary losses for victims.

The following are examples of things fraudsters want but that a bank will never ask you to provide unexpectedly via email, text message, or phone call:

• Online banking login credentials
• Account numbers
• Payment card details (e.g., full card number, PIN)
• Contact information (e.g., phone numbers, home addresses, email addresses)
• Personally identifiable information (e.g., Social Security number, driver's license number)
• Secure access codes (one-time passcode)

Example of an Imposter Scam

Fraudsters continue to refine their tactics to increase their success rates and to avoid detection. After all, getting ahold of sensitive information could lead to a virtual gold mine. But in each attempt, they’ll do their best to make you think it’s actually your bank contacting you.

• Step 1: The fraudster posing as a bank employee contacts you via email, text message, or phone call, claiming it’s an urgent situation (e.g., your account is unexpectedly locked, there’s an IT issue with your account).
• Step 2: The fraudster urgently requests that you reply with sensitive information to verify your account so that the situation can be resolved.
• Step 3: The fraudster then uses that information to withdraw funds from your now-compromised account(s). (Never, ever give this type of information to a person claiming to be from your bank who is unexpectedly contacting you.)

If you see something, say something

If you receive what you believe is a suspicious email, text message, or phone call from somebody claiming to be with your bank and who requests sensitive information, don’t respond. Instead, contact your bank directly using known, trusted contact information (e.g., a phone number listed on the bank’s actual website) and alert them of the situation.

For Umpqua customers, contact your banker/relationship manager, or our Customer Resource Center at (866) 486-7782, and visit our Contact Us page for additional support details. 

If you’re a business owner, click here to learn more about how our smart solutions can help fortify your business from fraudsters while also optimizing your operations.