Federal Trade Commission data for 2023 shows that consumers reported losing nearly $2 billion to impersonation scams – with many scammers impersonating banks in order to trick victims into sending money, giving up access to their online banking accounts, or providing other sensitive information. This information is intended to help you to be aware of the red flags and be extra vigilant to prevent becoming victimized.

What is the new spoofing scam?

Criminals are calling customers and posing as bank employees to gain important account information, such as verification codes.

• As a reminder, Northern Bank will never call to ask for personal information like PINs, passwords, social security numbers, or account numbers.

How to spot the red flags of a bank phone call scam

1. The scammer claims to be calling from your bank. The caller ID may even look like it’s coming from your bank. Scammers can spoof their phone number to look like it’s an official bank number.
2. It’s likely that the scammer will claim there was suspicious activity on your account or unauthorized access to your online banking account. In addition, the scammer may even manufacture a fraudulent “pending charge” to make the scam seem legitimate.
3. The scammer will use their fabricated fraud claims to ask you for your online banking sign-in credentials. They might ask you for your username, password, security questions and answers, and one-time authorization codes. This is a major red flag and should alert you that this is a scam.

Protect yourself

Northern Bank will never call you and ask you for this information. On the other hand, if you call Northern Bank’s customer service team directly, our representatives may ask you questions necessary to verify your identity. This is to ensure that we are talking directly to our customers and not an imposter. Our staff will never ask you for your passwords.

We recommend monitoring your account activity daily. Northern Bank offers two free online and mobile banking tools to help you monitor your accounts and debit card. Card Management is a feature that monitors your debit card usage and can be used to shut off your card if it is misplaced or you spot fraudulent activity. Alerts & Notifications is another tool that monitors all of your bank transactions, like deposits and withdrawals and ATM transactions.

And always be wary of texts, calls, or emails that ask you to log into, or send money with, payment apps.

Report suspicious activity

If you receive a suspicious call, hang up immediately and call Northern Bank's customer service team at 1-800-273-6908 Option "0".

For more resources on how to keep your account and personal information safe, visit nbtc.com/learn/topic/information-security.