First United Bank is warning customers about a new scam targeting the community.
Assistant Vice President and Deposit Strategy Officer Keri Hinton says they are seeing a surge in what’s called “neighbor spoofing.” In this scam, she says criminals falsify caller ID to make it seem like calls are coming from local numbers or trusted organizations. She says their goal is to steal personal or business information.
Hinton warns that even if a caller ID looks familiar, the person on the line might not be who they claim to be. The bank advises residents to be extra cautious with unexpected calls, never give out sensitive information, and hang up if something feels suspicious.
First United Bank also urges everyone to call businesses back using a verified phone number. If you believe you’ve shared information with a suspicious caller, contact First United Bank immediately at 270-821-5555.
Here is an example from one of our business customers:
I received a call from 270-821-5555, who said they were Ethan Ward from First United Bank. He reported what was suspected fraud by phone, complete with name, amount, and location of the request, and gave me a case number. Went on to explain their system of handling fraud and then sent me a link with an “efirstunited.com” address. I then told him I would call the bank to verify this information before I clicked on any link, and at that point, he hung up.
