Over the past several days, the Jefferson City Police Department has been made aware of several scam-based calls placed to residents within the Jefferson City area. These calls are targeting debit card holders, claiming that their debit card has been frozen and requesting the caller to enter their debit card number and PIN to "reactivate" the allegedly frozen debit card. In this particular instance, the automated call claims it represents Central Bank.
Once entered by phone, the victim's debit card information and PIN is used to fraudulently withdraw money from their account without the victim's consent. It is important to note that while Central Bank's systems has not been compromised nor released any customer information, there have been monetary losses due to consumers responding with their own information to the fraudulent call.
As with any other scam, residents are reminded that your local financial institutions do not make these types of automated calls, and that any information entered or given during those calls most likely will result in fraudulent transactions within your account. In general, any call requesting personal information of any sort from your local bank, credit card company, or any financial service or institution should be confirmed to be legitimate by calling the number provided on your credit or debit card, not through the initial phishing call itself.
Residents are always cautioned to be mindful of potential scams of any kind, and are strongly encouraged to contact the respective vendor or company directly through a confirmed/established phone number to determine the validity of these calls.
Central Bank is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations concerning this matter, and they are encouraging all residents to use caution when receiving these calls, emails or any correspondence requesting private financial or personal information.
For further information regarding protection from scams, contact Captain Shoemaker at the Jefferson City Police Department at 634-6400.