Fraud Information

American National Bank Anti-Phishing Information

There is a type of Internet piracy called “phishing” (pronounced “fishing”) and that’s exactly what these cyber-thieves are doing: “fishing” for your personal financial information. They want your account numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers, and other personal information they can use to gain access to your accounts or run up charges on your credit cards. The number of cunning and clever phishing scams sent out to consumers are increasing dramatically!

While online banking here at American National Bank and e-commerce in general is considered to be very safe, as a general rule you should always be apprehensive about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet.

Here at American National Bank we value you and the secrecy of your personal financial information. As such we will never ask for personal information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, etc. using email or ask you to submit this information through ANY email system.

*Always be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information.*

What is Vishing?

“Vishing” is a combination of the words voice and phishing. Vishing is very similar to phishing—the only difference is the technology. Phishing involves the use of emails to trick you into providing your personal details whereas “Vishing” involves voice or telephone services. If you use a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, you are particularly vulnerable to a “Vishing” scam.

A typical “Vishing” call involves a scammer, posing as an employee from your bank or another organization, claiming to need your personal details.

It is usually executed when a consumer receives a pre-recorded call identifying a specific local financial institution. The messages usually informs a consumer that their account has been frozen and then the message advises the consumer to immediately input their ATM or debit card number, expiration date, and PIN to re-activate the affected accounts. CV2 from the back of the card can also be requested. These calls appear to be made from various telephone numbers and the automated phone calls are most likely being made from a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service using various telephone numbers that are attributed to the scam. Regardless of the story you are told, the scammer will be aiming to convince you to divulge confidential personal and banking information, such as your PIN or password.

If you are on the line with a scammer, the scammer can record your personal banking information if you use your telephone keypad or keyboard to input your details.

Here at American National Bank we value you and the secrecy of your personal financial information. As such we will never call and ask for personal information such as usernames,passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, etc. using recorded messages or ask you to submit this information through ANY phone recording.

SMShing

SMShing is phishing that happens via SMS text message. A criminal sends a text messages tricking you into providing financial or personal information or clicking on links that will sneak viruses onto your mobile device. To guard against these scams:

• Don’t respond to a text message that requests personal or financial information. We will never ask you to respond in this way.

*Always be suspicious of any telephone call with urgent requests for personal financial information.*

If you receive an email or a phone recording asking for personal identifiable information and appearing to be from American National Bank; or the email/call contains a re-arrangement or similarity to the American National Bank name, DO NOT GIVE OUT YOUR INFORMATION!

Instead, Please contact our Customer Service Department at 940-397-2300.