More For Your Money | Adams Bank & Trust Newsletter | 4th Quarter 2022

FOIL THE GRINCHES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

by TODD S. ADAMS chief executive officer

It’s the season of giving, but scammers and fraudsters spoil more Christmases than the Grinch.

Criminal behavior happens year-round, but it definitely increases this time of year. As you do your holiday shopping, please be aware of the many ways that the thieves are targeting consumers.

Criminals know that texts are a quick way to get the attention of large numbers of potential victims. Most texts are opened within minutes of receipt.

Scam artists use computers to send mass text messages (known as SMS phishing or smishing) to thousands of numbers at a time, impersonating retailers, banks, or government agencies.

Fraudulent texts about package delivery delays or changes are common examples. They’ll use a link in some sort of urgent alert, asking consumers to provide usernames, passwords, credit or debit card numbers, PINs, or other sensitive information that can be used to commit fraud.

USE THESE TOOLS IN OUR MOBILE APP FOR YOUR PROTECTION:

✔ AdamsAlerts: Personalized alerts make it easy to stay on top of your finances and detect any fraudulent activity.

Alerts can provide notifications about account activity, current balances, recent transactions, account security, and more. Receive alerts via email, text, or push notification.

✔ CardControl: CardControl lets you turn off lost or stolen cards, set alerts, controls, and limits based on location, merchant category, and transaction type, and view recent transactions and linked accounts.

Information criminals will often target a specific area code and use a recognizable entity as the purported sender. You may even see the sender identified as Adams Bank & Trust in your caller ID, even though we didn’t send the message. The scammers have falsified or “spoofed” the caller ID information.

Scam artists also use emails with fraudulent links to target consumers. Again, the emails can be made to appear as though they’re coming from a merchant, bank, or other trusted entity.

The bottom line? Never enter personal or financial information into a link in a text message or email. Delete the messages instead.

Remember, we at the bank will never ask you to enter items like your Social Security Number, account number, or card number in a text or email link because we have that information.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the bank directly with any questions or concerns.

QUICK TIP: Our new contactless debit cards protect you from card skimmers used by thieves. Just tap your card to pay wherever you see the Contactless symbol. For added security, remember that Adams Bank & Trust debit cards are compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay mobile wallets.

SERVING NEBRASKA, COLORADO & KANSAS | 800.422.3488 | INFO@ABTBANK.COM