News & Media

More than $10 billion in 2023 was lost across the United States due to bank fraud. The banking community has taken notice. The best line of defense begins with you identifying, avoiding, and reporting fraud. Currently, the most aggressive types of fraud are romance scams, checkwashing, and phishing. If you find yourself in a fraud situation, contact your bank and report it to the FTC .

Romance Scams

According to the FTC, $1.14 billion was lost to romance scams, making them one of the biggest scams in today's internet world. It's essential to be aware of this prevalent threat. Romance scammers create fake online profiles to create relationships with their potential victims. This scam takes time over days, weeks, or months to slowly win over its target. After gaining a victim's trust through a formed relationship, they will tell a heartfelt story about how and why they need money. These stories are often tailored to the victim so they will be more likely to "help" the scammer. Older individuals are targeted, and so are emotionally vulnerable people, but anyone could become a victim.  The best rule of thumb for these cases: Never send money to someone that you have not met in person. Victims should stop communications and research their scammer. If you find yourself in a romance scam situation, contact your bank and report it to the FTC. 

Check fraud  

1 Billion dollars each year are recovered from fraudulent checks, says the American Bankers Association. Suppose you notice that a check you have sent never made it to its recipient; it may have been stolen and washed. Have you ever heard of the phrase "washing money"? That is precisely the process used – Fraudsters steal checks and physically clean them with different chemicals so they can re-use and cash them. To prevent this, don't leave your mail unattended long after delivery, communicate with the individuals sending you mail to ensure its safe arrival, and consider buying security envelopes. If you are in a fraudulent check situation, please contact your bank. You should also file a report with the police and the United States Postal Inspection Service. 

Phishing   

Forbes stated that phishing scams are one of the most prevalent cybercrimes, with over 500 million phishing attacks in 2022. Phishing scams can occur over the phone, email, or text. These scammers steal personal information, including credit card information, passwords, identifying details, and much more, by reaching out to you and acting like someone else. A few ways to determine a fishing scam include the misspelling of words, poor grammar, links, asking for personal information, and unknown numbers. Be sure to look out for these things when receiving texts or emails. These scammers are savvy; these attempts could be abbreviated alerts from a trusted source trying to contact you. Never give personal information away online. If you find yourself in a phishing situation, please get in touch with your bank.   

What to Do

• Review your banking accounts regularly. Account Alerts can be set up in online and mobile banking to monitor your account balance and any credits to your account.
• If you discover a fraudulent transaction on your Blue Ridge Bank account, immediately contact us at (888) 331-6521 or visit your local branch.

At Blue Ridge Bank, we work to keep your accounts safe and secure, whether you're accessing them online, through an ATM, mobile device, or in one of our branches. For more information on how to keep your personal information secure, visit our Identity Protection page.