Salem Police Warn of Debit Card Scam

Salem Police want like to remind the public that Financial Institutions will never send a text, e-mail or phone message asking for information they already have.

Courtesy: infosecurity.us

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem Police are warning the public of a scam text message that has been sent to numerous people advising that their debit card has been frozen and requesting that they call a phone number to have it reinstated.

Salem Police Lt. Dave Okada says there are at least 40 known instances of people who have received telephone text messages stating "We apologize to inform you that we have locked your debit card. For fast reactivation please call us at 971-404-2986."

This phone number is not in service at this time, Okada said.

"The Salem Police Department has confirmed with at least one credit union that they have received numerous calls from their customers who have received this message. The debit cards were not frozen by the credit union and they did not send these messages to their customers."

He says Salem Police want like to remind the public that Financial Institutions will never send a text, e-mail or phone message asking for this information because they already have it and there should be no need for them to ask for it again.

"We advise that if you receive a text and/or e-mail message of this nature, delete it immediately and do not respond to it. Do not call the number back or click on any links provided, as they will most likely take you to a false website."

Okada says if you have any questions, you can look up the phone number for your financial institution through directory assistance or by other means than the numbers provided in the message, then call the institution to see if the correspondence is legitimate.

If you provided financial or personal information by any of these means, contact your financial institution and/or credit card company immediately and report the event.