FDIC-Insured - Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government
FDIC-Insured - Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government
As technology improves, so should your banking experience. F&M Bank is dedicated to ensuring you are kept up to date with the latest trends in technology and financial wellness. Check out our materials below for more information on how you can remain up-to-date and protected!
Some scammers will pretend to be a grandchild that is in need of help. Often times they will call you by name and will use vague statements to convince you to send them money somehow. In truth, these are scammers pretending to be your loved ones and trying to get you to hand over your hard-earned cash. Check out the article below from AARP that talks about these scams:
Scammers love to use gift cards because they are easy to get a hold of and once they get access to the numbers on the card, it is extremely difficult if not impossible to get the funds back. Posing as law enforcement, the IRS, Social Security, and even tech support, the common trend is the fraudsters want you to purchase gift cards to pay them. Once you hand over the numbers to the gift card, the money is immediately snatched out and you are left with an empty gift card and a hole in your wallet. This is a scam that affects people of all ages, young and old alike. Check out the article below from the FTC on how to avoid and report gift card scams!
Everyone including scammers know about Amazon, the popular online marketplace to purchase goods. If you can name it, Amazon probably has it. Because Amazon has become such a household name, fraudsters take advantage by impersonating Amazon. You may receive claims about alleged suspicious activity on your Amazon account, Amazon technical support reaching out, or even receive a notification about a fake large dollar transaction to Amazon. Fraudsters want you to panic and hand over your information before you realize they aren’t who they say they are. Check out the article below on how to learn more about Amazon Imposter Scams!
As your hometown bank, you trust us to take care of your financial future, an immense responsibility. Fraudsters know that you rely on your bank to keep you safe and will exploit that trust to attempt to get you to hand over that information to them. Fraudsters may attempt to contact you by phone, email, mail, or even text messages while posing as your bank. They can change their caller ID, they can change their email address, and they can make it appear they are calling from a bank phone number. Check out the article below for more information on Bank Impersonation Scams!
Business Email Compromise, or BEC, is a common tactic by fraudsters. By infiltrating a company’s email system or simply impersonating another user’s email address, fraudsters attempt to deceive employees of a company into handing out information. Whether they are pretending to be a third party requesting information or a C-suite executive, these types of scams can have devastating results. Can you tell the difference in the email addresses below?
customerservice@fmbankandtrust.com
customerservice@frnbankandtrust.com
The differences are subtle, and the scammers are hoping you won’t catch them before it’s too late. Check out the article below for more information!
Whenever you have an issue with a product or service, your first choice is normally to contact Customer Service to get assistance. Fraudsters take advantage of this by posting fraudulent webpages with false information such as phone numbers that don’t go to the actual merchant but instead go to the scammers. How do you get the help you need while also staying safe from fraudsters? Check out the article below to learn more about Customer Service Scams!
How do you know the person you think you are talking to online is who they actually are? Catfishing is a common scam where fraudsters take pictures or the identity of somebody and take on their identity to attempt to con you out of your money. Sometimes it can escalate to where fraudsters are impersonating celebrities and political figures. They convince you to send money, invest in cryptocurrencies, and they aren’t afraid to put hours, days, and even months into setting you up and build your trust. They are convincing, but they will do everything in their power to take from you. Check out the article below on Catfishing and tips on how to avoid being catfished!
Fraudsters aren’t afraid to play with your heart while draining your wallet, Romance Scams are some of the most common scams we at F&M Bank see. Scammers pose as a romantic interest online for their targets and convince them to invest in fake accounts and drain their savings. Some request financial assistance so that they can come see their target. These fraudsters are particularly cruel in that not only have victims been extorted of their savings, but they realize they put trust into someone who sees them as nothing more than a source of income. Check out the articles below on Romance Scams and how you can spot and avoid them!
AARP on Romance Baiting/Pig Butchering Scams
Facebook Marketplace is a place where you can buy and sell pretty much anything you can think of. It’s a great tool for finding people in your area who are looking to get rid of something you need. It’s also a great tool for fraudsters to try to scam you out of money. They may try to convince you to pay using methods outside of the marketplace and never deliver on what you intended to purchase. Check out the article below on Facebook Marketplace Scams and how you can protect yourself against them!
Some people are looking to lose a few pounds but are finding that a lot more than what they anticipated is being taken from them. Weight Loss Scams are centered around products that are not regulated or do not live up to what they claim. In today’s society where such an emphasis is placed on how you look, scammers are cashing in on those who are looking to better themselves. Check out the article below on Weight Loss Scams to protect yourself!
Do you get tired of constantly getting phone calls from mysterious phone numbers notifying you that your car warranty is expiring? The reason you get so many of these calls is because scammers know it’s a proven method for taking people’s hard-earned money. While you may think you are protecting yourself by investing in these so-called “extended warranties”, you may be creating a false sense of security where these costly service plans don’t actually cover what you think they do. They bury exceptions in fine print and you end up paying for something you can never use. Check out the article below on how to steer clear of Car Warranty Scams!
One of the more recent and surprisingly effective scams that have come out by fraudsters involves receiving a text message or phone call advising that you have unpaid toll road fines. Not only are you putting your account or card information at risk, but these scams provide fraudsters with information capable of committing identity theft and even possible installing malware on your device as a result of clicking links. Check out the article below on how you can spot and dodge these types of scams!
We all want to help others, but fraudsters want to take advantage of your charity! Make sure whenever you are donating to an organization that you are working with an active organization that is actively pursuing the goals they claim to and not a group of fraudsters attempting to trick you into handing over your information. Check out the article below for tips on how to avoid Charity Scams and how to put your money into the right hands!
Jury Duty – you never know when it’s going to come up, some people never get called, some people get called repeatedly. The penalties for not reporting for jury duty can be worrying, and with the uncertainty surrounding the postal service, there’s always the worry something could be missed. Fraudsters cash in on this fear in a scam targeted towards individuals, convincing them that they missed jury duty and must pay a fine or face legal consequences. Check out the article below for more information on Jury Duty Scams and how you can avoid them!
While you may think checks are out of style and not in use any longer, checks actually account for a significant number of fraud cases across the globe. While an emphasis has been placed on protecting what is considered more digital channels such as shopping online and using your debit card, more losses stem from check fraud than other sectors. Receiving an unexpected check in the mail should be a major red flag, and you should never cash a check for someone you don’t know. You will end up on the hook, financially and legally, and the only way you can protect yourself is by becoming informed. Check out the article below on Check Scams and learn how you can protect yourself!
Your name, your address, your phone number, your driver’s license number, your passport number, your Social Security number – they all belong to you because they are you. It’s very important to keep this information safe and out of the hands of scammers. Identity Theft is when someone uses your information to pose as you and receive financial gain as a result. Whether it’s to drain your account or rack up obscene amounts of debt in your name while they reap the rewards, Identity Theft is a major issue across the world.
If you suspect you may be a victim of Identity Theft, contact your local police. In addition, stop by and we’ll be happy to provide you with an Identity Theft package that provides step-by-step instructions on what to do.
Learn more about Identity Theft at the link below, don’t wait until it happens to you or a loved one, find out what it is and how you can protect yourself today!
Fraudsters have no hesitation when it comes to flooding your phone with unwanted phone calls, texts, and emails, trying to get you to hand over your information. Phishing is the most common method, where email is utilized and may call on you to click links to install malicious software or present fake websites where you can enter your data. Smishing is a similar method focused on scamming individuals via text messages. Vishing is another scam that is centered of phone calls. No matter what kind of “ing” it is, it’s a scam, and you need to know how to spot and protect yourself against these. Check out the links below for more information!
QR Codes are those strange looking boxes filled with pixels that your phone can read. QR Codes took off during the COVID-19 pandemic as an alternative means for some businesses such as restaurants to present their menus without providing physical menus. Other businesses use them as a means of directing customers to specific web addresses without having them to manually type it in. Fraudsters take advantage of the vague nature of QR Codes as a means of tricking people into putting their information in on fake websites or installing malware on their devices. Don’t let it spread any further! Check out the link below to learn more about QR Code scams and how you can avoid them!