News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A series of e-mails purporting to be from Bank of the Cascades (BOC) hit mailboxes throughout Sisters this month. The e-mails are a scam, seeking personal information that can be used to steal money.
The scam has struck across the region.
Some e-mails refer to a survey; others seek to "verify" information for a state kicker refund; others refer to expired transfer services.
"They attempt to get your personal information," said BOC President Mike Delvin. "Debit cards is what they're after. Some people are on their sixth e-mail."
Some BOC customers have fallen for the scams.
"We've had a few customers who realized what they've done, or they noticed activity on their accounts that they knew wasn't correct," said Delvin.
BOC has refunded some $14,000 due to losses. Delvin said this is the largest such scam to hit the bank, but it is not terribly significant in the larger financial picture.
"Nobody likes to have losses like this, but it is certainly a manageable number," he said. The last loss reported was in the second week of October, indicating that customers have caught on to the scam.
BOC is investigating.
"We're in contact with the FBI," Delvin said. "We have a feeling that (the e-mails are) coming from overseas."
Like all banks, BOC employs a third party organization to track and shut down bogus bank Web sites that appear in such scams - but sites pop up again like mushrooms after a rain.
The most important security measures lie with the customer. Never respond to any e-mail that contains a link.
"When they (customers) get them they should delete them," Delvin said.
The bank does communicate with customers through e-mail, Delvin said, but "the BOC will not be embedding a link in any legitimate e-mail."
BOC will never contact a customer via e-mail requesting any kind of confidential information. Any e-mail that does so, no matter how official or convincing it looks, is a scam.
Those receiving scam e-mails should contact BOC at 877-617-3400.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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