Reports of scams increase in S.A.

Officials at some San Antonio financial institutions say they lately have received an increasing number of reports of scams bent on getting customers to give up their personal financial information.

Generations Federal Credit Union, San Antonio Federal Credit Union and Jefferson Bank are among local institutions hearing from customers who've been asked via phone, email or text for account numbers, personal identification numbers and other personal information.

“It goes on all the time for everybody, but we have certainly seen an uptick over the last three weeks,” said Mike Rehm, senior operations officer with Jefferson Bank.

“They seem to come in phases or cycles,” added Jim Peters, SACU's bank secrecy compliance officer and loss prevention adviser. “About the last week and a half, it's really picked up.”

It's difficult to know just how widespread the problem is right now. Institutions rely on customers to report fraudulent calls, emails and texts.

USAA Bank has not received any reports from customers, spokesman Paul Berry said. Security Service Federal Credit Union, which is the area's largest credit union, hasn't experienced anything out of the ordinary, spokesman John Worthington said.

The two largest banks based in San Antonio, Frost Bank and Broadway Bank, didn't respond to queries.

San Antonio information security company Digital Defense Inc. on Monday issued an advisory for local bank and credit union customers to be on alert for the scams.

“It seems like they're really hitting San Antonio hard,” said Mark Bell, Digital Defense's executive vice president. He declined to name any institutions that have received reports of the scams.

Perpetrators figure that if they blanket a particular area, Bell said, they have a better chance of contacting an actual customer of a local institution and tricking them into giving up their information. SACU's Peters added that many of the scams originate in other countries.

A common scam involves using automated phone calls to alert someone that their debit card has been deactivated. The person is then given a set of instructions to reactivate the card, but it's just a ruse to get their personal information. The technique is known as “vishing.”

More Information Avoiding trouble Steps to avoid becoming a victim of fraudulent phone calls, emails or texts: Financial institutions, as a general rule, will not call, text or email customers to ask for sensitive account information.

Alert your financial institution when you receive a suspicious message.

Don't email personal or financial information.

Only provide personal or financial information through an organization's website if you've typed in the web address yourself. Make sure the site is secure and begins with "https."

Ask questions. If a caller won't give a name or a call-back number, it might be an attempt to "phish" for your personal information.

Review credit card and bank statements for unauthorized charges. Source: Generations Federal Credit Union

Last Tuesday, Jefferson Bank posted a “smishing” alert on its website. Smishing involves sending cellphone text messages to deliver false alerts to get customers to divulge personal information.

The institutions also report “phishing” scams, in which fraudulent emails direct recipients to websites at which they are asked to provide personal financial information.

Bank and credit union officials warned customers not to give out their personal information.

“It's akin to someone coming up to you on the street and asking you for your debit card number,” Generations spokeswoman Ashley Harris said. “If you're not sure, hang up and call your financial institution.”

pdanner@express-news.net