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Welcome to Alpine Banks Fraud Center. With fraud and identity theft on the rise it is important that we be aware of the latest fraud schemes that are affecting people every day and that we have the information and tools so that we can protect ourselves and our personal information from falling victim.
Alpine Bank respects and honors your privacy by upholding all aspects of our privacy policy. The policy and our adherence to it are reviewed quarterly by an outside auditor. Read more about our Privacy Policy here.
If you think you're a potential victim or are a victim of Identity Theft, click here for assistance or call 970.625.7174.
Lastest fraud schemes and fraud news
Click on a topic below to learn more...
| Jury Duty Scam (posted 8-9-07) |
The following Data Security Brief warns of a new identity theft exploit known as the "Jury Duty Scam," affecting consumers when fraudsters attempt to commit identity theft over the phone. This brief also communicates a recommended mitigation strategy to prevent and protect against identity theft from this type of fraudulent tactic.
Click here to learn more. |
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| ATM/Debit Card Safety Tips (posted 6-27-05) |
- Treat your card like cash. Keep it in a safe place.
- Keep your personal identification number (PIN) a secret.
- Do not disclose card information over the phone to anyone. No one needs to know your PIN, not even your financial institution.
- Do not disclose information about your card in response to an unsolicited email or request.
- Report a lost or stolen card immediately.
- Do not allow anyone other than yourself to enter your PIN for you, even if they are assisting you with the transaction.
Alpine Bank will never ask for your personal information over the phone or through an email. If you receive a request and it appears to be from Alpine Bank please notify your local Alpine Bank customer service representative.
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| FTC Releases Top 10 Consumer Complaint Categories for 2004 (posted 2-3-05) |
Identity Theft Again Tops the List
The Federal Trade Commission today released its annual report detailing consumer complaints about identity theft and listing the top 10 categories of fraud-related complaints filed with the FTC in 2004. For the fifth year in a row, identity theft topped the list of complaints, accounting for 39 percent of the 635,173 consumer fraud complaints filed with the agency last year.
The top categories of consumer fraud complaints for 2004 include:
- Internet Auctions - 16 percent
- Shop-at-Home/Catalog Sales - 8 percent
- Internet Services and Computer Complaints - 6 percent
- Foreign Money Offers - 6 percent
- Prizes/Sweepstakes and Lotteries - 5 percent
- Advance-Fee Loans and Credit Protection - 3 percent
- Business Opportunities and Work-at-Home - 2 percent
- Telephone Services - 2 percent
- Other (miscellaneous) - 12 percent
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| Tips for Recognizing and Avoiding Fake Check Scams (posted 12-31-04) |
If someone you don’t know wants to pay you by check but wants you to wire a portion of the money back, don’t do it. It’s a scam! If you receive a check or money order as payment for a lottery or sweepstakes you have won, ask yourself have I entered a sweepstakes? Did I buy a lottery ticket? It is more than likely a scam! You may bring the check or money order into your local Alpine Bank and we will be able to verify the authenticity of the check for you.- The many faces of a fake check scam. It could start with someone offering to buy something you have advertised for sale, pay you to work at home, give you an advance on a sweepstakes or lottery that you have supposedly won. Whatever the pitch, it will sound very legitimate and believable.
- They will hunt you down. The scammers search newspaper and online advertisements for people listing items for sale, and check for people seeking employment. They will email or fax people randomly, knowing that someone will take the bait.
- They claim to be in another country. The scammers claim that it is too difficult to send you the money directly from their country, so they’ll arrange for someone in the U.S. to send you a check, or pickup the item.
- They ask you to wire money to them after you have deposited their check. They will send you a check for the agreed selling price plus a little extra (usually $2,000-$3,000) with instructions to wire them back the extra amount. These checks are fraudulent, you still have the item you were selling but you will be out the “extra” they had you wire to them.
- The checks or money orders are fake but they look real. They look so real that even the bank tellers can be fooled. They may be fraudulent cashier’s checks, money orders or stolen checks from legitimate business accounts.
- There is no legitimate reason for someone who is giving you money to ask you to wire money back.
- Don’t Deposit It – Report It! Report fake check scams to the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch, at www.fraud.org or (800) 876-7060.
Information provided by www.fraud.org |
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| Grant Scam Making a Comeback (posted 12-14-04) |
| New versions of an old but effective scam are making the rounds. It's the "government grants" scam in which recipients of phone calls are promised government grants in return for a one-time "processing fee." The one-time low processing fee is usually $199.95 that they will debit from your account. This scam depends on a consumer's willingness to reveal their personal account information. This information allows the scam artist to use desktop software to create what looks like an actual check from the consumer's checking account and debit the so-called processing fees without the consumer's signature. If you have been victimized by this or any other scam you should contact your bank immediately and request a stop payment or credit for the amount. |
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| What Can You Do? (posted 12-08-04) |
| Most major internet sites and financial institutions have been targeted including Citibank, PayPal, eBay, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and America Online (AOL). These scams usually show up in your email inbox with a message telling you to perform some urgent maintenance on your account. If you ever get message like this be very, very, careful. Adopt a “need to know” approach to your personal data. Your credit card company may need to know certain information, so they can verify your identity when you call for information on your account. However, if a person is contacting you and says he is from your bank, he would need to know that information if it’s already in your file with the bank. The only purpose for such contact is to acquire your personal information and to use it fraudulently. Guard your information closely; do not open attachments or emails from people you don’t know. Keep your personal information personal. |
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| Website Offers Free Credit Reports (posted 12-03-04) |
| Beginning today consumers in Colorado and other Western states can order their free credit report from www.AnnualCreditReport.com. You are now entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three national credit bureaus. Consumers should take advantage of this at least once a year, to ensure that their good name and good credit has not been stolen. Visitors to the website will be asked to enter key personal identifying information, all kept secure by anti-hacker technology. Some of the authentication questions that may be asked are your mortgage company name, the amount of your monthly mortgage payment. The three credit bureaus emphasize, that the authentication procedures will never require you to provide credit card or bank account numbers. Consumer Beware – do not fall for imitators who might claim, perhaps through an email, that they will obtain free reports for you. Keep your personal information safe; get your credit report yourself from a secure and safe source. You may also order your report over the telephone by calling (877) 322-8228, or by writing to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. |
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| When Bad Things Happen To Good People (posted 12-03-04) |
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works for you, the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid fraud. If you feel that you have become a victim of fraud you may file a complaint by calling (877) 382-4357 or
visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
If you feel that you have been a victim of a fraudulent promotional offer you should contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 888-877-7644 or visit www.uspsoig.gov.
If you have a problem with a sweepstakes or prize promotion after participating, and you are unable to resolve the problem directly with the company, you may contact The Direct Marketing Association at (202) 955-5030; The Better Business Bureau where the company is located or Call for Action, at (301) 657-7490, this is a network of radio and television station hotlines that offer resolution services for consumers. The Alpine Bank Fraud Hotline is available from 8:00-5:00 M-F, to assist with any questions you may have (970) 625-7174.
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| TOP TEN CYBER SECURITY TIPS (posted 10-4-04) |
The NCSA (National Cyber Security Alliance) has proclaimed October National Cyber Security Awareness Month. NCSA provides tools and resources to empower home users, small businesses, and schools to stay safe online. For more information about this not-for-profit organization, visit www.staysafeonline.info/
TOP TEN CYBER SECURITY TIPS- Use “anti-virus software” and keep it up to date.
- Don’t open emails or attachments from unknown sources. Be suspicious of any unexpected email attachments even if they appear to be from someone you know.
- Protect your computer from Internet intruders – use “firewalls.”
- Regularly download security updates and “patches” for operating systems and other software.
- Use hard-to-guess passwords. Mix upper case, lower case, numbers, or other characters not easy to find in a dictionary, and make sure they are at least eight characters long.
- Back-up your computer data on disks or CDs regularly.
- Don’t share access to your computers with strangers. Learn about file sharing risks.
- Disconnect from the Internet when not in use.
- Check your security on a regular basis. When you change your clocks for daylight-savings time, reevaluate your computer security.
- Make sure your family members and/or your employees know what to do if your computer becomes infected.
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| Trojan targets users of British online banks, Sophos warns of latest phishing attack (posted 8-27-04) |
Experts at Sophos have warned British computer users who bank online about a series of Trojan horses that try and steal financial information.
The Tofger Trojan horses target users of a number of online banks, including Abbey, Barclays, Cahoot, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide, and Woolwich.
Running in the background, the Trojan horse monitors which websites are being visited - and if it recognizes an online banking website it secretly captures keypresses and takes snapshots of what is displayed on the monitor.
The information is then sent back to the remote hackers, who can use the captured data to break into bank accounts and steal money.
"This is very different from the fraudulent emails which many computer users receive everyday, trying to lure you to a bogus website. This Trojan waits for the customer to visit the real banking website, and then it captures passwords and account information making robbery a breeze," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Home users and businesses large and small need to protect themselves with up-to-date anti-virus software and take extreme care to ensure their computers are kept free from Trojans like Tofger and other malware." |
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| Brazilian banking customers should beware of the phish! Sophos reports on Trojan horses (posted 8-27-04) |
Experts at Sophos have warned computer users about Trojan horses that try to fool users of a number of banks into entering their account details.
The Troj/Banker-AR Trojan horse and Troj/Banker-K Trojan horse are designed to steal information from users of a number of Brazilian online banks.
Once a computer is infected with one of the Trojans internet activity is monitored, and if it is determined that the computer user is visiting one of a number of Brazilian banking websites a fake login page is displayed.
"The fake forms popped up by the Trojan horses are intended to steal confidential login information such as account numbers and passwords," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "Unlike traditional 'phishing' attacks the way these Trojan horses work means that the user can have their credentials stolen even if they have visited a legitimate banking site. It's not the website that tricks them, but the Trojan horse working in the background."
Although these particular Trojan horses only target users of Brazilian banks, Sophos warns that computer criminals can easily adapt the trick for use against any website.
"All computer users should be running an up-to-date anti-virus as well as protecting their PC with firewall technology. This, combined with the safe computing practice of exercising caution over what you choose to run on your computer, can dramatically reduce the risks of these kind of attacks," continued Cluley. |
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| Business Fraud Busters (posted 6-3-04) |
Individuals and businesses alike can become victims of fraud. Whether the scam is delivered via the mail, the telephone, or the Internet, the best defense when protecting your business is to follow these basic rules:
- Do business with companies you know and trust. If you don't know them, check them out.
- Understand the offer. Get all the details and promises in writing.
- Check all bills and invoices carefully. It's hard to get your money back once it is gone.
- Protect your account and financial information. Don't provide this information to anyone unless you know who you are doing business with, and have verified the legitimacy of the transaction.
- Educate your employees about avoiding scams. Make sure they understand their roles and responsibilities.
You can help prevent fraud by recognizing when a possible scam is happening and reporting it. |
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| Has anyone tried taking you "Phishing" lately? (posted 5-1-04) |
There is a growing epidemic relating the credit / debit card fraud. There is a large number of Fraudsters today and they want one thing.... your money. They will try to scam you in anyway that they can. The latest scam is called 'Phishing', you may know all about this scam or you may have heard about it but just don't understand the term. The following information will describe how 'Phishing' works and what to do about it.
A fraudster will either call or email you in attempt to gain your credit card information and the three digit purchase code from the back of your card. This will allow them to make purchases by using your credit card / debit card account. If the individual calls, they may represent themselves as being from the 'fraud department' at your credit card company. They may give you a very convincing story regarding recent fraud that has occurred on your account and claim to help you, they will give you a false sense of security and then will ask you questions in effort to get your personal information. If they contact you through an email, it may appear to be legitimate correspondence from a company that you are currently doing business with. The email may contain the same design, graphics and logo as the legitimate business, however they will try to coax information out of you to later be used fraudulently. They do this by luring you into providing confidential information on the spot or they include links to a site that tries to get you to disclose personal data.
There are several different websites that will give you information on how to protect yourself from Identity theft and Phishing such as www.fdic.gov and www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pub/alerts/phishingalrt.htm. Some important tips to protect yourself from this Phishing scam are not to give out your personal information over the phone if you did not initiate the call and do not reply to any emails that are requesting you personal information. Be aware! There are ‘look alike’ websites that are designed to trick you into providing your information. |
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