DERBY — Community National Bank (CNB) recently released a video featuring President and CEO Kathy Austin delivering a message to the general public warning against fraudulent activity and scams created to steal money from unsuspecting consumers.
Unfortunately, fraudulent activity and financial scams have been around for a very long time.
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The problem that we are facing today is the dramatic increase in frequency of this activity and the complexity and sophistication of the scams.
Although the financial industry has many safeguards in place to help detect fraud, the scammers have changed the game and they are targeting the general public directly by delivering messages through phone calls, email and text messages.
They are purporting to be law enforcement, potential romantic interests, lottery officials, government agencies, technology companies such as Microsoft and Google and the list goes on and on.
The fraudsters work to befriend their victims and spin a story that tricks people into giving up personal and financial data that can be used to gain access to accounts and finances.
In some cases, they simply ask the victim to send them money for whatever urgent need suits them, and they are successful.
“I’m proud to present this very important message,” Austin said. “We are all vulnerable and at risk. We hope this message increases awareness—encourages victims to reach out for help, and ultimately, we hope this message saves our community members from financial loss due to fraud.”
To view the new video, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1j93ZHcwbGA&t=1s
If you feel like you have been tricked into divulging too much personal or financial information, call your bank immediately so they can take action to block access to your account.
The longer a potential victim waits before reporting this activity, the higher the probability that money can be lost.
