Elgin State Bank Blog

FDIC Warns of Fraudulent E-mail

On July 2, 2010 in a Consumer Alert, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) advised the public that it has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail which has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC. The subject line of the e-mail states: “you need to check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage.” The message states, “You have received this message because you are a holder of a FDIC-insured bank account. Recently FDIC has officially named the bank you have opened your account with as a failed bank, thus, taking control of its assets.” The e-mail then directs recipients to click this link, “You need to visit the official FDIC website and perform the following steps to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage.”

This e-mail and the associated web site are fraudulent. The link directions should not be followed. The link may be an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto the computer of the recipient.

Posted by Deborah Szmurlo on July 9th, 2010 in Consumer Alerts, Customer Care, Elgin Experience.

Tags: Consumer Alert, FDIC

Could You be the Victim of a Scam?

There has been a rash of scams aimed at consumers such as you that have caused many to lose their hard earned money.

• Did you receive a check or money order and were asked to send a portion of the funds back to the maker?
• Were you told you won a competition or promotion that you did not enter?
• Were you asked to buy “low-risk” shares in a fund for purchasing “high-stakes” tickets?
• Were you offered bait prizes that are substandard or were you asked to purchase “exclusive items?”
• Were you told that a prize you won requires travel or other arrangements at your own expense?
• Were you promised easy money by working at home and were asked to send them money minus your “pay?”

In all these cases, victims are asked to withdraw cash and wire the funds via Money Gram and Western Union.

For more information, or to report a check scam, visit www.fakechecks.org.

Posted by Deborah Szmurlo on April 8th, 2008 in Consumer Alerts.

Tags: Consumer Alert, Scam