Fraud isn’t a buzzword or something that happens to “other people.” According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center 2024 report, it received over 859,000 complaints and nearly 30% of those involved a financial loss.
In addition, people aged 60 and older filed the most complaints and suffered the highest total losses. Common tactics used to target this demographic were tech support and romance scams, government impersonation schemes and investment fraud involving cryptocurrency.
The Top Threats
- Phishing/Spoofing: Fake emails, calls or texts pretending to be from trusted companies or government agencies.
- Extortion: Cybercriminals demand money by threatening to release sensitive information or take damaging action unless you pay a sum.
- Personal Data Breaches: Cybercriminals hacking systems to expose Social Security numbers, bank details or login credentials – often sold or used to commit identity theft.
Stay Protected
- Do not click on suspicious links or download attachments from unknown sources.
- Don’t trust caller ID – scammers can spoof numbers to look legitimate.
- Use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication on accounts.
- Monitor your financial accounts regularly for unusual activity, and take advantage of Peoples’ Online Banking tools like Account Alerts and Card Controls to monitor transactions.
- Don’t share financial or personal information over the phone, email or text.
The statistics are a wake-up call, but also a reminder: You’re not powerless. Learn more about protecting your personal and financial information by visiting the Peoples Bank Fraud Prevention Center.
Peoples Bank will never call, text, email or provide links/attachments requesting your security code, banking credentials, debit/credit card number, or to conduct banking transactions. If you’re ever in doubt, contact your local branch or our Customer Care Center at 800.374.6123.
