Is Your Bank Really Merging?

I've probably already said it a few hundred times, but it bears repeating: Phishers will take advantage of any situation to gain access to your personal information. And the current focus of their attention is the financial worries that almost everyone is experiencing right now.

One current scam that the FTC is warning about focuses on bank mergers. Phishers contact people through email or by phone claiming there has a been a merger of the customer's bank or mortgage company, and requesting account numbers and account access information. Banks will never call or email you requesting that you provide information they should already have on file.

If you receive an email or phone call requesting this kind of information, ignore it, delete it, hang up. Whatever you do, don't provide the information that the caller requests. Instead, if you think the call might be legit, hang up the phone and then call the company back using the phone number provided on your statements or in your telephone book (don't use a phone number provided by the caller, because that will just route you right back to them).

Criminals are criminals all the time. They'll take advantage of any opportunity to separate you from what's yours. So, be prepared. Always.