News Flash

On May 1st, 2013, a local financial institution notified Dubuque Police of a debit card scam in which members were contacted on their cellular phones (caller I.D. shows “1128”) and a recording advised their debit card had been deactivated and in order to reactivate the card, they must select/press “option 1”. Thus far, those contacted have hung up at this point, but it’s believed the member would ultimately be prompted to provide card number, personal identification number (PIN) and/or the card verification value (CVV).

This type of scheme often referred to as “vishing”, can also be perpetrated via email. Fortunately, regardless of the scam or scheme, prevention remains the same. Just as the above mentioned members did, you should hang up and not provide the requested information – regardless of how legitimate the call may seem. Often the fraudsters will be armed with some of your information before calling/emailing, and this can lead to a false sense of security/validity. Unless you initiated the contact, legitimate financial institutions and companies/businesses will not randomly contact you via phone or email and request personal information. When in doubt, do not provide any information. Discontinue the contact and notify your financial institution by contacting them in person or at a phone number you know to be valid.

More information on these (and many other) schemes/scams can be found at www.fbi.gov and www.ftc.gov.