Beware of Phishing and Other ID Theft Scams

Phishing – pronounced fishing – is the latest form of identify theft. It’s when thieves act as if they are representing us and try to “hook” you into providing personal information. Once you’re “hooked,” the thieves can do serious damage to your financial accounts. They can dupe you into providing your Social Security number, financial account numbers, PIN numbers, passwords, mothers’ maiden names and other personal information.

How Does Phishing Work?

By E-mail:

The most common form of phishing is by e-mail. For instance, you could receive an e-mail from First Georgia Community Bank, asking you to “reconfirm” your personal information. Unfortunately, this e-mail is not from us, but from a phisher pretending to be a representative of our organization.

Typically, the e-mail contains a link to a Web site that looks like a near-replica of our site. You click onto the link and add your personal information, which goes right into the hands of identity thieves. It’s important to not respond to these e-mails.

By Phone:

Phishers also use the phone to hunt for personal information. Some, posing as employers, call or send e-mails to people who have listed themselves on job search Web sites.

While phishing scams can be sophisticated, the following features are often indicators that something is suspicious.

Be aware of a potential scam if:

• Someone unexpectedly contacts you and asks for your personal information, such as your financial institution account number, an account password or PIN, credit card number or Social Security number. First Georgia Community Bank would not contact you for that information.
• The sender, who is supposedly a representative of our organization, asks you to confirm that you have a relationship with us. We have that information on record.
• You are warned that your account will be shut down unless you “reconfirm” your financial information.

For more information:

Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Atlanta Regional Office
10 Tenth Street, NE, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30309-3906
800-765-3342

The Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs
State of Georgia
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Suite 356
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
(404) 651-8600 or
1-800-869-1123 (outside the metro Atlanta dialing area)

Other resources:

Federal Trade Commission
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/

National Fraud Information Center
http://www.fraud.org/
 
First Georgia Community Bank is doing everything we can to counter this type of criminal activity. The protection of your account is our top priority. We encourage you to learn more about internet and other forms of fraud.