Stockgrowers State Bank would like to alert you to some common scams that are widespread in today's society. Con artists & financial scams have been around almost forever, but modern technology has helped make all of us more vulnerable to them. It is not “big city” business anymore. Thieves are constantly inventing new ways to get your money. The FBI says identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime in the nation. Criminals gain access to your identity through any number of ways, from your junk mail, to telephone solicitation, to receipts found in the trash.

You can protect yourself by taking these basic precautions:

• Shred or tear up credit card & ATM charge receipts, credit card solicitations & bills, cancelled checks, account statements, expired cards & similar documents.

• Outgoing mail should be deposited at the post office rather than the mailbox, and incoming mail should be promptly removed to avoid thieves from gaining access to your personal information, especially in rural areas.

• Review your monthly bank & credit card statements promptly and carefully for any unauthorized activity. Report anything suspicious immediately. With the age of electronic transactions, fraudulent activity can easily slip by.

• Do not put the complete credit card account number on the memo of your checks when paying your bill. Instead, write only the last 4 numbers. This is all the information necessary for your payment to be applied correctly, and limits the information to those who might abuse it.

• Never give out personal information over the telephone! Be especially cautious of anyone posing as a law enforcement individual, bank representative, or someone from “prize headquarters”. A good rule of thumb is to never give information to anyone if you did not instigate the telephone call. Once a crook has access to your account number, they can create and issue drafts with your account number to steal funds directly from your account. Never “verify” your account number or social security number over the telephone or internet.

• Avoid sending sensitive information such as account information via unsecured e-mail. Passwords and PIN numbers should be used when accessing an online account. Use up-to-date virus protection & access controls regularly.

• Guard your social security number. Never carry it in your wallet, and avoid having it printed on your checks.

• Protect your password & PIN number. Never lend them to anyone even if it’s someone you trust, they may be careless and leave it in plain view for a scam artist. Be mindful around the ATMs for “shoulder surfers”, persons watching to steal your PIN number to gain access to your account(s).

• Question credit denials that you receive for no apparent reason.

• Periodically check your credit report to see if there are any credit cards and or loans in your name that you didn’t generate. A free credit report is available at www.annualcreditreport.com

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