Scams can happen any time of year, but with online holiday shopping underway there are more opportunities for those looking for a way to gain access to personal information.
Ginnie Petersen is the retail banking manager for Northwoods Bank. She said the most recent scam involves mortgages and mortgage insurance. “A warning or final notice postcard will come in the mail,” she said. “It says their mortgage insurance with Northwoods Bank is in jeopardy. People call us terrified, especially the elderly. I tell them to turn the postcard over. On the back side in very tiny letters it says they are not affiliated with Northwoods Bank. It gives a number to call and says it needs an immediate response.”
She said, if someone calls that number, the scammer will ask for information with the goal of stealing mortgage information.
“Especially for people who have already paid off their house, the scammers will go in and put the title in somebody else’s name,” she said. “I’d say five or six people a month walk into the bank with that mortgage card and two or three a day call in.”
The bank reports this type of activity to law enforcement, the Federal Communication Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the post office.
Petersen said lottery scams are still number one in the nation.
“Someone calls and says they won $9 million from Publisher’s Clearing House, but they need to pay the taxes up front,” she said. “And the caller…
