With the holiday season in full swing, people are spending their hard-earned money on holiday shopping and Ridgewood Savings Bank(RSB) is offering tips to protect your bank account and avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
Fraud and scams target consumer bank accounts daily, but the November and December holiday months see the highest fraudulent activity as more people use their bank accounts and credit card accounts, according to Ridgewood Savings Bank.
“I think when some people hear about the fraud cases that are happening, they may quickly say, ‘who in the world would fall for that.’ And you’d be surprised,” said Mark Sanchioni, Chief Bank Officer at RSB. “The caliber of people that do fall for that are very much highly educated professionals, etc., who, when presented with a strong sense of urgency by somebody who’s done a fairly good job of misrepresenting who they are, can suddenly get you to do something you wouldn’t normally do.”
According to RSB, there are 10 different kinds of fraud to watch out for.
Grandparent scams
A grandparent scam is when your grandson/granddaughter confesses to being in trouble and say they need money to get out of the predicament they are in. Fraudsters will request you to send a payment through services like Venmo & Zelle, gift card codes, or some other form of payment.
If you are in this situation, hang up and call your grandchild directly, according to RSB. Don’t click any links and emails you don’t trust. If…
