The Ridgewood Savings Bank has released a series of informative videos in an effort to mitigate fraud.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), fraud has been on the rise since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to take a hold of the United States. While the FTC reports social media scams are on the rise, phone call scams have always accounted for most of the reported fraud.
To combat this, Ridgewood Savings Bank is teaching consumers how to spot possible fraudulent schemes. Viewers can learn about the techniques used by scammers to siphon money out of checking accounts and steal Social Security numbers, as well as how to identify an IRS or Medicare hoax.
The long-time community mutual savings bank emphasizes one way many scams take place over the phone: when an unknown number, which sometimes comes up with the name of your bank on caller ID — asks to verify a consumer’s bank account number.
“While we may call to verify certain account activity, we will never ask you for personal information, either on the phone, or in an email or text,” said Leonard Stekol, Chairman, president and CEO of Ridgewood Savings Bank. “We advise anyone who receives a suspicious phone call, email, or text to contact the bank directly.”
Ridgewood Savings Bank’s fraud protections services extends beyond the informational videos, including tools to protect customers from fraud when using their debit card and services to protect from identity theft.
“As a community bank, our job is to help hardworking people save for the future and achieve financial security,” Stekol explains. “We are happy to offer an array of fraud-protection services and education to help them keep their money safe from thieves. Through a business partnership with EZShield, a proven specialist in ID Theft prevention and protection services, we are able to meaningfully leverage these services to our customers.”
To view the videos, visit www.ridgewoodbank.com.
