©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Police Warn of Bogus Calls, Text Messages Seeking Bank Account Information |
POSTED 9:36 a.m., UPDATED 10:40 a.m. 5/26/10 Authorities from at least three counties say don't fall for a scam that's been going around that attempts to dupe people out of money in their bank accounts, primarily through electronic automated phone calls.
Officials with the Galesburg Police Department and the Knox County Sheriff's Department say they've received several inquiries asking about the authenticity of the calls received by residents in the past 24 hours. Officials in Warren and Henderson counties say residents there have also received similar calls, as well as text messages.
Knox County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Keith Rickard says the calls local residents have received include a request for information like bank account numbers, pin numbers and expiration dates. Rickard says some of the bogus calls inform residents that there's a problem with their debit cards - for instance they've been changed or canceled. The caller then says bank account and pin numbers are needed in order to reactivate the debit cards.
Galesburg police say the electronic automated phone calls appear to sound authentic and they may have been created by copying parts of voice-recorded information from local banks.
Rickard says, unfortunately, some residents have fallen for the scam. He says two phone numbers associated with the scheme were 744-8820 without an area code and 408-942-9800.
Authorities say anyone who gets one of these calls or text messages should contact their bank immediately. They remind people to keep their bank information private and never release account information over the phone as banks will not ask for it that way.
Bank customers who notice money missing from any of their accounts as a result of the fraudulent activity should contact their local police department. |
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| 05 26 10 by Newsroom |
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