Caller ID Spoofing
These days hackers will try just about every way possible to get your money or identity including hacking a website, sending a phishing email, or caller ID spoofing. Caller ID Spoofing is when scammers make it look like your friend, your spouse, yourself, your bank, or even the FBI is calling you and it takes less than 60 seconds for them to do it. Because of this, we want you to know a spoofing attempt can even happen with our bank phone number. If something feels off, protect yourself by hanging up and dialing 636-239-7831 to ensure it is a Bank of Washington employee and not a hacker.
Regardless of the contact method, we want you to be aware of a few things that we will never ask you. If you get asked for any of these items below, all warning signs should be going off!
We will never reach out to you and ask things we already know, including:
- Your full account number
- Your full debit or credit card number
- Your full Social Security number
We will never:
- Ask for your PIN number - we will never need to know this.
- Ask for your online banking password or security questions - we will never need to know this.
- Give you a deadline of 24 hours before your bank account erases itself. This immediacy is a tactic they use to make you rush and not think clearly.
- Close your account because you are not giving us the information listed above.
We also want you to know that the only time we would ever ask for the CVV, or security code, on the back of your debit card is if you proactively reach out to us to set up or change your PIN number.
We will never randomly call you and request this information.
Scammers are leaning on the trust that you have in your bank to get information out of you, and it is very easy to fall victim to their tricks. Please, do not hesitate to call us if you have any worry at all that you may have been contacted by a fraudster. The sooner we know, the sooner we can possibly help mitigate the impact. Stay alert, keep your guard up, and never fear contacting us.