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Stay Alert to Common Scams
Scams are constantly changing, and staying aware of common tactics can help you protect your information.
Email, Text and Phone Scams
Cybercriminals are targeting customers of financial institutions and preying upon their lack of knowledge surrounding digital/mobile banking practices. Civista Bank will never contact you outside of official channels asking for personal or account information.
Business Check Fraud & Other Payments Scams
Payments fraud is a growing trend affecting businesses in our communities. See steps you can take to help safeguard against fraudulent activity.
How to Recognize — and Avoid — Common Scams
- Impersonation Scams: Hackers can spoof numbers for government agencies, like the IRS, debt collectors, your local bank or even people you know, asking for sensitive information.
- Reactivation Scams: Scammers may send text messages asking you to reactivate your account by clicking on a link or calling a number.
- Delivery Notification Scams: You may receive a text message or email saying that you have a package waiting for you and to click on the link to track it.
- Prize Scams: Scammers claim that you've won a large prize or lottery and are required to pay an “administrative fee” in order to claim it.
- Family Emergency Scams: You may receive a call from someone pretending to be a loved one in distress and asking for money to help them out with an emergency.
- Understand that scammers often pretend to be from trusted organizations. They may utilize technology to impersonate names and phone numbers, so what you see on your device may not be real.
- Criminals may include high-pressure, urgent requests — citing a problem or prize that needs your immediate attention.
- Many phishing emails or texts will contain grammatical errors in the message or sender's email address.
- Scammers may also tell you a specific payment method that you must use to remedy the situation. Often suggesting cryptocurrency or gift cards.
- They may also send you a check to deposit, asking you to send back a portion of the money. When it's discovered the check is fake, you'll be out the funds.
- Never click on links or attachments from unknown senders.
- Don't respond to suspicious messages or call phone numbers provided in suspicious messages. Instead, go to the source by reaching out to the sender via their official phone number or webpage.
- Contact Civista directly or stop in your local branch to speak with someone in person.
- Never provide your personal or financial information.
- Civista will never call, text, or email you asking for your personal information, secure access codes, or login credentials.
- Block unwanted calls or text messages.
- Don't be pressured to act immediately.
Simple Ways to Stay in Control
You can review your account balances and transactions daily using any of the following free services:
- Civista Digital Banking
- Civista Mobile App*
- Civista Automated Telephone Banking
To enroll in account alerts with Civista Digital Banking, go to Settings > Alerts. There are various options to allow you to closely monitor transactions and activity on your accounts. Keep your contact information up-to-date with us, so we can notify you quickly if we detect suspicious activity.
* Standard wireless carrier charges may apply.
Need to Know More?
Our team is at the ready. Reach out to us online, over the phone, or at your nearest Civista Bank with questions about keeping your account safe, additional information, and help in securing your data.
