Big Bear Valley, CA — Fraudulent phone calls, generated by scam artists claiming to be making contact on behalf of First Mountain Bank, are once again being made to Big Bear households, as of today. Those called have been asked to provide their account number and pin code to reactivate their ATM cards. A similar series of bank scam calls took place in the Big Bear Valley this past April and, prior to that, in April 2009. As Richard Miller, Compliance and Information Security Officer for First Mountain Bank, has explained of the fraudulent calls, “They target more of the community banks, versus the big banks. When they hit a smaller area with a smaller number of banks, they have a better chance of reaching customers. They get the prefixes, like 866, and then just start calling until people answer the phone. They don’t have a name and a number; they just have a phone number.” These automated scam phone calls may ask for a debit card number or password, which Miller advises you never give out over the phone. Per Miller, “No bank should call, email or anything else to verify your information, because they already have that info. So, never give a password or pin number to anyone, especially if on the phone.” If you are a banking customer of First Mountain Bank and have inadvertently shared any pertinent information, you are advised to contact the bank, either by visiting one of their four branches or by calling 866-5861. Medicare beneficiaries should also be wary of scam calls, which have been taking place this week as well–for details on this scam directed at seniors, read our story posted June 15.
