Scam targets Central Bank clients

Central Bank is warning customers to be wary of the latest identity theft scam that urges people to give up their bank account information over the telephone.

The phone calls were made between Tuesday and Wednesday, and several counties in central Missouri were affected, said Dan Westhues, senior vice president of Central Bank, in Jefferson City.

“We know that 60,000 phone calls went out over a period of two days, and all the phone calls are automated,” he said. “We’ve encountered three scenarios. One message tells you that your account has been deactivated and it directs you to a Web site. Another message asks you to punch in your 15-digit debit card number, and the other message asks you to call an 800 number asking you for your 15-digit card number.”

Bank account information has not been compromised on the part of the bank, Westhues said. “These scams are an attack on a community, not on a bank,” he said. “Of the 60,000 calls, very few were our customers. I wish I had 60,000 customers.

“They’re hoping a certain percentage of the people they call will bank with Central Bank, and of that percentage, they’re hoping a smaller percentage will do what they ask.”

The phone scams, Westhues said, were meant to hit a different demographic. With e-mail scams, identity thieves are hitting the 18 to 45 group, he said. The phone scams tend to affect people over the age of 45.

These scams have been going on for years, Westhues said. “We all know about eBay, CitiBank and PayPal scams,” he said. “Because everyone ignores those e-mails now, what these people are doing is picking institutions in specific communities. What Central Bank is experiencing is no different than what’s happening in other communities.”

Most of the identity thieves are overseas, Westhues said. The victim gives his bank card information to the thief, and transactions start popping up in places like Romania and Russia.

“For this particular one, we’ve seen transactions in Bulgaria. We see them come through as ATM transactions. So someone out there is producing plastic,” he said. “And how do you catch an international criminal? Well, the answer is, you don’t.”

When faced with the possibility of being duped and getting taken advantage of, the game plan should be to have as much information about these scams as possible, said Jeff Koetting, head of operations at Third National Bank in Sedalia.

“Most of the time banks won’t call you, but we do try to alert customers to possible fraudulent activity,” said Koetting. “Always be suspicious and inquire as to why they’re calling. Tell them you’ll call them back using the bank’s published number.”

Customers getting these e-mails or phone calls should only call the bank’s phone number in the telephone directory and let the bank transfer the customer to the department that allegedly tried to make contact, he said.

The fraudulent e-mails, Koetting said, will try to direct the recipient to a Web site that looks almost exactly like the bank’s Web site. “Banks won’t e-mail a person telling them to go to their Web site or telling them about fraudulent activity on their account,” he said.

Banks won’t ever ask customers for their Social Security or debit card numbers, either, because they already have that information, Koetting said.

The Sedalia Police Department and Pettis County Sheriff’s Department have not heard any complaints about bank identity theft scams in the area. To report a scam, consumers are encouraged to call the attorney general’s consumer protection hotline, (800) 392-8222.