Farmers Bank & Trust Co. is warning its customers about a debit card scam that on Tuesday apparently began targeting possible customers of the local bank.
Executive Vice President Chris Cook said the bank is aware of a handful of calls made to residents telling them their debit card has been suspended. The automated call, with a caller ID that shows the numbers 5595, asks for the cardholder to enter their 16-digit account number, the expiration date of the card and a PIN number in order to reactivate the card.
“It’s definitely not us calling,” Cook said of the bank.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, Cook said only one of the calls the bank is aware of was made to an actual customer of the institution. That proves, Cook said, that the bank’s security has not been compromised and that the scammers are simply phishing for potential victims from contact information gathered from sources outside of the bank.
Cook said both Marion Police Department and Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department have been notified of the scheme.
If an Farmers Bank customer provides the information requested and then realizes it is part of a scam, they should immediately call the bank to have the card suspended.
