Phishing is a cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted by email, telephone or text message by someone posing as a legitimate institution to lure individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking and credit card details, and passwords. The information is then used to access important accounts and can result in identity theft and financial loss. Everyone makes mistakes. Customers make mistakes. Banks make mistakes. Statistics show that phishing generally occurs when someone least expects it. We have found that it is becoming more and more commonplace for online institutions to request sensitive information from customers in order to proceed with transactions.
Several of the institutions researched by this firm do this on a regular basis and legally work, on this basis, with large banks and financial institutions. So, as of 2018, a precedent has been set. While most “old school” customers would never give out sensitive information such as online banking user id’s and passwords, many younger customers are readily doing so for a number of reasons that include, but are not limited to, obtaining credit cards and loans. Simply put, the new “tech savvy” generation is more familiar with doing transactions online than simply approaching an established bank or lending institution.
In a recent case, a customer was approached by an online institution with an apparently known name and legitimate email address. Information was provided. The customer’s bank called days later and informed him or her that they were shutting down their account and reporting them to ChexSystems for fraud because several counterfeit checks had been deposited into their account by “mobile banking.” Chex Systems, Inc. (ChexSystems) is a nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). ChexSystems’ clients regularly contribute information on closed checking and savings accounts. ChexSystems provides services to financial institutions and other types of companies that have a permissible purpose under the FCRA. ChexSystems’ services primarily assist its clients in assessing the risk of opening new accounts. https://www.chexsystems.com. In this case, no investigation was made as to who actually committed the fraud and now the customer cannot open up any account at that institution ever again and also is blocked from opening up a new account with another bank. The customer had never even used mobile banking before.
Thrift McLemore’s attorneys are well versed in bank fraud litigation and phishing scams. Contact Thrift McLemore by email at info@thriftlegal.com or by phone at 678-784-4150 to discuss how we can assist you.
