Fraud Prevention

Fraudsters will pose as legitimate businesses and convince you to share sensitive information or visit fraudulent websites via text. Ameris Bank will never initiate a text message for the purposes of obtaining your private information.

Scammers may call you and spoof the number they're calling from so that it seems realistic. The caller may claim to be from the IRS, Ameris Bank, or another financial institution, urging the need for personal information or a payment. The caller may even know small bits of information about you, making claims of high-stakes urgency like a sweepstakes or lottery win. If you question the legitimacy of any phone call, hang up and call back through an official number. Call spoofing will only work when they call you. Remember, no bank will initiate a call and request your private information.

When online fraud is initiated via fake emails it is called “phishing.” Know the five red flags of phishing. 

• Fake sender address: An email may look legitimate, but by scrutinizing the sender's address, you can see if there are any misspellings or an extra dash in the address. Sometimes the lower cap letter "L" is replaced with the number "1."

• Generic or "phishy" salutation: If the salutation does not contain your name, consider it spam and delete it. Some emails might include an odd form of your name in the salutation, such as your email moniker (i.e. frsmith). If the email doesn't get your name right, delete it. 

• Urgent call-to-action: Any email that contains urgent calls to action, such as "your account will be closed" or "action required," should be considered suspect. 

• Request for sensitive information: Just know that any legitimate business or government agency will never request confidential information. Delete it. 

• Phony links: Most phishing scams are all about the links. Never click on a link unless you are 100% certain of the source. Avoid links that don't start with "https" in the URL. If there is no "s", it's probably fake.

• Never give your credit or debit card account number or PINs to anyone you don't know over the computer or the phone.

• Review your card statements for unfamiliar transactions.

• Always know where your card is and never leave your wallet or purse unattended - even for a moment.

• Shield the keypad when entering your PIN.

• If you're shopping online, be sure the website you're visiting is secure (indicated by https://) before you enter your card number.

• Pick PIN numbers you can easily remember that are not easily guessed (e.g. birthday dates, repetitions of a single number).

• Never write your PIN number on your card, or on a slip of paper that you keep in your purse or wallet.

• Get the receipts from your card transactions.