3 Popular Scams to Look Out for This Summer

Over the past few weeks, cybercriminals have been hard at work targeting our community. While the types of scams these days seem endless, there are three we've seen on repeat recently—including scammers impersonating 3Rivers.

Members have been in frequent contact with us lately about the following:

1. Smishing texts related to toll road fees and BMV updates.
2. Fake text messages impersonating 3Rivers.
3. Sophisticated phone scams posing as our fraud department.

You've likely seen news coverage or social media posts about the toll road and BMV scam texts. The big takeaway for these is: DO NOT click on any links or take any actions on them!

Texts from scammers posing as banks and credit unions also aren't new, but continue to run rampant. There are some key things to look for to help you determine a text isn't from your financial institution—you can see examples here.

Phone call scams involving the impersonation of 3Rivers or other financial institutions can be much more convincing. In these instances, scammers trick you into handing over sensitive information without even realizing you've been swindled.

Here’s how a recent phone scam we've been seeing works:

• A scammer calls, pretending to be from the 3Rivers fraud department (or another bank or credit union's), claiming a suspicious charge is attempting to clear your account.

• They say that to “protect” you, they need to verify your identity by sending a One-Time Passcode (OTP).

• The OTP sent is real, generated by the card servicer, but it’s actually being used by the scammer to add your card to their own mobile wallet (like Apple Pay or Google Pay).

• Once added, the scammer can make in-person transactions using their mobile wallet (charging your card).

• Some transactions trigger fraud alerts, but scammers work hard to manipulate you into replying that it's not fraud, giving the green light for more fraudulent charges to go through.

Remember: 3Rivers will NEVER ask for a one-time code over the phone! If someone calls you claiming to be from 3Rivers, or one of your other financial institutions, and asks for a one-time code, hang up immediately. Even if the phone number looks familiar, scammers can spoof caller IDs to make it seem legitimate.