HELENA — We all use emails, texts, phone calls, and even physical mail to gather information daily, but sometimes, others are using scams to gather your information. No matter the type of scam, there are ways to be prepared.
"I want to tell this story because I just hate to see this kind of stuff happening," Tom Blankenship, a Helena resident, says. "People getting scammed, and, sadly, there are people out there who do this to other people."
Blankenship explained how a two-hour-long phone call almost led to being scammed.
"He kept me on the phone the whole time, which was really kind of weird," Blankenship says.
On the call, a man acted as if he worked for the sheriff's office and that they would arrest Blankenship for not attending jury duty if he did not pay five thousand dollars.
"Usually they are trying to play on your fear or a sense of urgency," Mandy Fisher, the chief info security officer of Opportunity Banks says. "Pause, take a deep breath and really stop and think."
Banks are one of the main ways scams are caught. Employees and software can analyze customer habits and patterns, helping spot irregularities.
Opportunity Bank of Montana says they catch scams daily and have seen an uptick over the years.
Tom is a frequent customer at Opportunity Bank and explained to them what was going on.
"Sure shooting they are even using the sheriff phone number at the top of their little page and so she verified that it was a scam," Blankenship says.
Some of the most common scams include fake prizes, phishing, romance scams, investment scams, and imposter fraud, often targeting older adults.
Fisher says, "Currently we are seeing a lot of romance scams where people take advantage of lonely people and either try to get them to invest in fake funds and steal their money that way or send them checks."
If someone is asking for personal information, including credit card or social security numbers know that banks and government institutions would already have that information and will never call and ask for that information over the phone.
If you are unsure if your situation is a scam, call your bank immediately.
