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Another "Phishing" Scam
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline has received a surge of complaints about telephone calls from an entity claiming to be from the Bank of the Cascades.
The caller is telling consumers that their bank records have been compromised and that they need to verify the consumer's bank account number. This is a phishing scam.
Never provide your bank account number over the phone or by email. No legitimate financial institution will call you and ask you for your bank account number or other sensitive financial information. The scammers are trying to trick consumers into turning over their bank account numbers to they can empty the bank account.
The Consumer Hotline has received more than 20 telephone calls from Central Oregon about this scam. At least one consumer fell prey to the scam and lost $515 immediately after providing their bank account number. This is a significant number of calls for such a short period of time.
Anyone who believes they have been approached by a scammer should contact the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392 or www.oregonattorneygeneral.gov.
