Don’t Get Fooled!
Scammers are impersonating officials & threatening you with arrest for FAKE warrants. They target your fear to steal money.
Remember: Legitimate matters won’t involve scare tactics or cash demands. Be smart, stay safe!
Banks across the nation are seeing an alarming increase in customers withdrawing large sums of cash and entering the cash into a local cryptocurrency ATM based on instructions received from a scammer.
Scammers may try to convince their victims to lie to anyone who asks questions. Please keep this in mind when we are asking questions and informing our customers about scams. Our goal is to make you stop and think about what is going on.
Claiming there is an immediate issue with your account requiring action to pressure you into staying on the phone.
Insisting you pay using cryptocurrency, wiring money, using a payment app, or buying gift cards.
Soliciting account numbers, PINs, or one-time passcodes received via text or phone.
Using caller ID phone numbers that appear similar to official First Century Bank contact numbers.
Employing scare tactics like claiming legal action, account closure, or demanding you keep the call a secret.
Please be advised that First Century Bank will never initiate contact via text message or phone call and request account information. To safeguard your financial data, we recommend:
We encourage you to remain vigilant and adopt additional security measures, such as:
Scammers often pretend to be contacting you on behalf of the government. They might use a real name, like the FTC, Social Security Administration, IRS, or Medicare, Federal Reserve, or make up a name that sounds official. Some pretend to be from a business you know, like your bank, utility company, a tech company, or even a charity asking for donations.
They use technology to change the phone number that appears on your caller ID. So the name and number you see might not be real.
They might say you’re in trouble with the government. Or you owe money. Or someone in your family had an emergency. Or that there’s a virus on your computer.
Some scammers say there’s a problem with one of your accounts and that you need to verify some information. Others will lie and say you won money in a lottery or sweepstakes but have to pay a fee to get it.
Scammers want you to act before you have time to think. If you’re on the phone, they might tell you not to hang up so you can’t check out their story.
They might threaten to arrest you, sue you, take away your driver’s or business license, or deport you. They might say your computer is about to be corrupted.
They often insist that you can only pay by using cryptocurrency, wiring money through a company like MoneyGram or Western Union, using a payment app, or putting money on a gift card and then giving them the numbers on the back of the card.
Some will send you a check (that will later turn out to be fake), then tell you to deposit it and send them money.
If you have any concerns or suspect you may have been a victim of this scam, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately.
You can always refer to the trusted phone number listed on your official Bank Statement.
First Century Bank is committed to safeguarding your financial information. We take proactive measures to combat fraud and maintain robust security systems. However, your vigilance remains crucial in protecting your accounts.
