More than half of Americans know friends and family members who have been victims of scams, according to a new survey by the credit scoring services firm FICO.
Fifty-one percent of respondents said they had a friend or family member targeted by a scam, an 8% increase from 2023. At the same time, 76% of respondents said they had received an email, text or phone call that was part of a scam.
Scammers target vulnerable people who innocently give out banking logins and passwords with promises of winning money, finding love, or saving a relative who’s been in an accident.
You can avoid becoming a victim by not giving out valuable information to anyone. After that, set up text alerts, so you know each time your debit card has been used. Some people set dollar amount and want to see every transaction above that. Others set up alerts for when a balance dips below a certain amount. The great news: You can modify the alerts to your liking.
Back to the survey. More than two-thirds (67%) of respondents said they are very satisfied with their bank’s fraud resolution process, versus the 50% global average. Nearly 20% of respondents said they would change banks if unhappy with how a scam incident is managed.
Peoples Bank wants to help all of its customers combat fraud and protect their accounts. We have a lot of different tools at your disposal to fight fraud. The best thing you can do is when something happens, call the bank and let them know.
Portions of this article were provided by the American Banker’s Association through their website.
