Attorney General's News Release

January 29, 2009

Scam artists targeting bank customers in Cass County with phone scam, Attorney General's Office warns

Jefferson City, Mo. - The Missouri Attorney General's Office says Cass County residents are receiving phone calls that appear to be from the Community Bank of Raymore, but actually are from identity thieves. An official-sounding phone call says the customer's debit card account has been compromised, then asks for personal bank account information.

The Attorney General's Office says this is known as a phishing scam, which is an attempt by identity thieves to trick consumers into giving out valuable personal information. Bank officials in Raymore say several customers fell for the scam and divulged their debit card number. The thieves then attempted to transfer money from the accounts to locations in Romania and Puerto Rico, but the bank stopped the transfers.

Consumers should never give out their personal information to anyone who contacts them. Any consumer that gets such a phone call or e-mail should assume it's a scam. Instead, they should call the legitimate phone number of their bank and report the contact.

Financial institutions and other legitimate organizations will never call or e-mail customers asking for personal information. Consumers can report phishing or other fraud at the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or online at ago.mo.gov.