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Phishing Crime Targets Baylake Bank

October 27, 2008 - Both Baylake Bank and non-Baylake Bank customers were targeted this weekend with a phone “phishing” scam.
 
Friday evening individuals received phone calls from someone identifying himself or herself as a Baylake Bank employee saying their card has been deactivated and to reactivate press 1. They then requested the account number. The phone calls were made to random individuals, some who do not bank at Baylake Bank. If anyone did enter card information, please contact a local Baylake Bank Financial Center immediately. The calls were primarily made in the Green Bay area.
 
“At Baylake Bank, we safeguard our customers through every means possible, including helping our customers understand ways to protect themselves,” explained Baylake Bank’s Senior Vice President of Operations Dan Hanson. “We want to warn the public so it doesn’t happen to them. Often, these scammers will tell you that a security procedure has changed at the bank or that they need to update or validate your account information.”
 
Phishing – pronounced fishing – is when thieves either call or e-mail hundreds of thousands of people stating that they represent a bank or another financial institution and ask you to provide your personal account information. Basically, the crooks are “phishing” for information from a randomly selected group of individuals in hopes that someone will fall for the scam and provide their personal account data.
 
If you respond with your personal account information, the thieves use that information to order goods and services or obtain credit. Consumers should note that with your account information, Social Security number, PINs, credit card numbers, passwords, mothers’ maiden name and other personal information, these con artists could do some serious damage to your account and steal your money. They can also ruin your good credit.
 
To avoid becoming a victim of a phishing scam, the Wisconsin Bankers Association offers these tips:
If you responded to phone call or an email, contact your bank immediately so they can protect your account and your identity.

If you don’t initiate the call or e-mail, never give out your personal financial information. If someone calls you or e-mails you asking for your personal information, never give it out. Banks would never call or e-mail their customers asking for that information.

Do not respond to a call or e-mail that may warn of shutting down your account or other dire consequences unless you validate your information immediately. Contact the company to confirm the e-mail's validity using a telephone number or Web address you know to be genuine.

Check your credit card and bank account statements regularly and look for unauthorized transactions, even small ones. Some thieves hope small transactions will go unnoticed. Report discrepancies immediately.

When submitting financial information to a Web site, look for the padlock or key icon at the bottom of your browser, and make sure the Internet address begins with "https." This signals that your information is secure during transmission.

For more information on phishing, visit the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at www.fdic.gov, the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov or the Anti-Phishing Working Group at www.antiphishing.org.
 
Phishing is fast becoming one of the most common forms of identity theft and it’s been called the hottest, most troubling new scam on the Internet.  A total of 43.4 percent of adults have received a “phishing” contact and it’s estimated that nearly 5 percent of all “phishing” attempts are successful, according to First Data Debit Services. It’s now the fourth most common Internet scam, based on complaints to the National Consumers League’s National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch database.

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