Protect yourself while buying those gifts, a warning as the holiday shopping season approaches

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Plumas Bank is warning the community ahead of the holiday shopping season. It says debit card fraud is the number one way people are getting scammed and it is going hand-in-hand with online banking fraud.

Scammers pretend to be your banking institution, sending customers fraud alerts when certain transactions are made. The alert may come through a phone call or a link to your email. Scammers may be looking for your information or already have some of it and need the rest and will ask for your password, pin and account number, pretending to help you.

Vice President of Digital Banking at Plumas Bank Sarena Barker says always make sure to double-check who has contacted you, “The best thing to do is pick up your phone and call your bank and say hey I just got this alert I want to see if it is legitimate. Things a bank will never do is ask you for your password, your pin number your login information, or any type of credentials.”

The bank also says the holiday season is when consumers will receive urgent or emotional emails. Such as, a sale that could be ending soon or asking for a donation to an organization. It’s recommended that you always double-check the source of the email.

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