Tips to Avoid Phishing Scams
WHAT IS DEBIT CARD PHISHING?
During heavy shopping seasons like Black Friday, or even during times of national emergencies like the recent COVID-19 pandemic, fraudsters are working hard to steal from you by launching what are called phishing attacks. In a phishing attack, someone will impersonate Port Washington State Bank, our third-party Fraud Detection Service, a health group or a federal government agency in order to get access to your debit card. These phishing attacks can be in the form of an email, text, voice mail or phone call. In some cases, criminals can actually call or text from what appears to be the bank's or call center's phone number. This is called spoofing, and spoofing a number helps criminals fool cardholders into thinking that text messages and phone calls are actually from the fraud department of their financial institution.
WHAT CLUES SHOULD I LOOK FOR TO IDENTIFY A PHISHING SCAM?
- You should never give out your PIN, CV2 code or expiration date over phone, email or text.
- In a text, email or call, there should not be any vague references to a “Merchant” transaction; details should be included
- If a caller claims to be from our Fraud Detection Service and asks to verify transactions, no personal information should have to be provided other than your ZIP code, and a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the transactions in question.
- A phone call from one of our Call Center agents will only include a request for your ZIP code, and no other personal information, unless you confirm that a transaction is fraudulent. Only then will you be transferred to an agent, who will ask questions to confirm your identity before going through the transaction history. If, at any point you're uncertain about questions being asked or the call itself, hang up and call us at 262-284-4416.
- A text caller ID will be from 20733. The text alert should never come from a 10-digit number resembling a phone number.
- A valid notification will provide information about the suspect transaction and ask the cardholder to reply to the text message with answers such as ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ ‘help,’ or ‘stop.'
- In a text alert warning of suspicious activity on a card, you should never click a link.
HOW DO I KEEP MY DEBIT CARD SAFE?
- If something looks or sounds suspicious, question it. If you don't recognize the person, feel free to call back and verify their identity before you answer any questions.
- Review your account activity daily in your PWSB mobile app or inside Online Banking and quickly report any unauthorized activity.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I THINK I'M A VICTIM OF A PHISHING SCAM?
Please contact PWSB Customer Service at 262-284-4416.
If you feel your card information has been compromised we recommend turning your personal debit card off to prevent any transactions from taking place. To do this, log into your PWSB mobile app, tap the "more" button, then "Manage My Cards." Scroll to the debit card image that you believe has been compromised, and then tap the "block card" toggle switch. If it has been confirmed that card wasn’t compromised, follow the same steps to turn your card “on” again.
