Can You Spot a SCAM?

Every day, thousands of people fall victim to fraudulent emails, texts and calls from scammers pretending to be their bank, a loved one, the government or law enforcement. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission’s report on fraud estimates that American consumers lost a staggering $12.5 billion to phishing scams and other fraud in 2024 — an increase of 25% over 2023.

These criminals are skilled at tricking you— convincing you to trust them, pay them and act fast. It’s time to snap out of it.

At Spring Valley Bank we’re committed to helping you spot scams. We’ve joined the American Bankers Association and banks across the country in a nationwide effort to help you realize when you’re under a scammer’s trance and snap out of it, so you avoid losing your money.

We want every bank customer to become a scam-spotting pro — and stop these criminals in their tracks. If something feels off, stop, take a breath and trust yourself. Five red flags to look out for:

• You’re pressured to log into or send money with payment apps — Snap out of it. 

• You’re contacted out of the blue, asked to act immediately and keep it a secret — Snap out of it. 

• You get a text that includes a suspicious link — Snap out of it.

• You’re emailed an attachment that you weren’t expecting — Snap out of it.

  
  

• You’re asked for personal information like your PIN number, passwords or Social Security number — Snap out of it.

If you receive a suspicious email or text:

• Do not download any attachments in the message. Attachments may contain malware such as viruses, worms or spyware.

• Do not click links that appear in the message. Links in scams messages direct you to fraudulent websites.

• Do not reply to the sender. Ignore any requests from the sender and do not call any phone numbers provided in the message. 

• Report it. Help fight scammers by reporting them. Forward suspected phishing emails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org. If you got a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726). Then, report the phishing attack to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

If you receive a suspicious phone call:

• If you receive a phone call that seems to be a scam, hang up or end the call. Be aware that area codes can be misleading. If your Caller ID displays a local area code, this does not guarantee that the caller is local.

• Do not respond to the caller’s requests. Financial institutions and legitimate companies will never call you to request your personal information. Never give personal information to the incoming caller.

If you feel you’ve been the victim of a scam and may have provided personal or important financial information, contact your bank immediately at their publicly listed customer service number. Be sure to include any relevant details, such as whether the suspicious caller attempted to impersonate your bank and whether any personal or financial information was provided to the suspicious caller.

You’ve probably seen some of these scams before. But that doesn’t stop a scammer from trying. For tips, videos and an interactive quiz to help you keep criminals at bay, visit BanksNeverAskThat.com. And be sure to share the webpage with your friends and family.

The content of this page is not intended for investment advice.

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