PIERRE — BankWest is joining banks across the United States and the American Bankers Association in promoting a new campaign aimed at protecting consumers. The hashtag-banks-never-ask-that campaign is a part of October being National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. BankWest Pierre Region President Andy Hubbart says scamming and phishing attempts are everywhere…
Throughout October, BankWest is putting forth an effort to educate consumers about the threat of phishing scams with videos and tips on social media to help identify fake bank communications asking for sensitive information like social security numbers and passwords. Some tips to protect yourself included never changing passwords, issuing payments or doing other sensitive tasks based on unsolicited requests. Never give out personal information like account numbers, user names, one-item access codes, passwords and social security numbers. Don’t respond to pressure tactics or requests for urgent responses. And attempt to contact those seeking information to verify it its a valid request. The Federal Trade Commission estimates consumers lost five-point-eight billion dollars to scams and fraud in 2021, and increase of over 70-percent from 2020.
