Identity Security
Customer Alert: Protecting Your Personal Information from Criminals
As your trusted financial partner, we are committed to protecting the confidentiality of your personal information. We will NEVER make an unsolicited request for any confidential information from you via email or phone call or require that you update your account details on a web page.
In recent months, criminals have been running scams, called phishing, through unsolicited emails and phone calls. The emails are sent claiming to be from a financial institution in an attempt to get sensitive, non-public information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, PINs, passwords, or credit and debit card numbers from customers. The phone calls are not expected and claim to be your bank asking you to confirm or correct certain account information by telling them what that information is. Some calls indicate that there may have been illegal behavior or a problem with your bank account and you have to tell them your confidential information to ensure that it is corrected.
Please be aware, these scam emails can be very convincing. The criminals will copy the logo and colors of a financial institution's materials in an effort to make it appear legitimate.
Internet security experts and the Federal Trade Commission have been investigating this scam technique, referred to as ‘Phishing,' in an attempt to reduce this type of criminal activity.
If you receive any unsolicited email purporting to be from the bank, please do not click on any links in the email or reply to the email. Please forward that email to fraudalert@firstmerchants.com or call 765-747-1500 so that we may investigate and pass along information about the incident to the authorities.
- Do not click on links in an unsolicited email claiming to be from a financial institution
- Be suspicious of email headers including the email sender's identity, which can be forged easily.
- Do not fill out forms in an email because it can be difficult or impossible to tell where the information will actually be sent.
- Do not provide confidential information to anyone calling to ask for it. If you receive a call, refuse their request, end the call and then call the bank to report the attempt.
Additionally, we strongly encourage you to keep from sharing your personal identification number (PIN), password, and account number with anyone and NEVER give it out in response to an unsolicited email or phone call.
We value the trust you place in us as your financial partner and will continue to take all necessary steps to protect your personal information.
Below are a few links to more information about this issue.
How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing' Scam - Federal Trade Commission consumer alert
‘Spoofing and Phishing' and Stealing Identities - About.com
‘Phishing' Scams Reel in Your Identity - CNN.com
