Fraud Information
Recently, people have been receiving Falcon Bank Cashier's Checks accompanied with a letter indicating that they have won a lottery, have been selected to be a mystery shopper, or claim that they are entitled to an amount of money if the cashier’s check is deposited or cashed and a portion of the check is wired back to the sender. If you have received such a check do not attempt to deposit or cash the check but do shred or tear and discard the check. The Falcon Bank Cashier's Checks that are sent accompanied with these sorts of letters are fraudulent and are part of a scam. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Lance Newman at (956) 723-2265 ext 1574 or toll free at (888) 310-2265 ext. 1574.
A few common scams are detailed below:
Lottery/Sweepstakes Scams
Lottery/Sweepstakes scams target consumers and can arrive through the mail, by email, or by an unsolicited telephone call. Here's how it works:
- The notification advises you have won a prize, but you did not enter in any type of lottery or sweepstake by the promoter contacting you.
- The promoter will ask you to send payment to cover the cost of redeeming the prize when the prize does not exist.
- In this type of scam, you may rarely if ever receive any winnings in return.
Mystery Shopper Scams
Here is how it works:
- A notification is received indicating that you have been selected to be a Secret Shopper and a check is sent along with the letter.
- The promoter asks you to deposit or cash the check, go to a certain retailer(s) and visit their customer service area to wire a set amount back to the promoter and the remaining balance is payment you receive for your services.
- Your financial institution returns the deposited or cashed cashier’s check as fraudulent and you will become liable for the amount used.
Check Overpayment Scams
Check Overpayment scams target consumers who sell items through an online auction site or a classified ad. Here's how it works:
Phishing Scams
You receive an email saying that your Bank needs you to update your account information and needs you to follow a web link in order to update your personal information on your account(s), debit/credit card, or online banking account. Here’s how it works:
- The email and linking Website may appear authentic. It may even look just like our Website.
- It may ask you to "update" or "validate" your account information such as your debit/credit card number, expiration date, and validation number!
- Falcon International Bank will never ask for account and /or debit card numbers by email or unsecured Website.
- Often it will threaten some consequence if you don't respond.
- If you respond the scammer will gather the information to steal your identity or to use your debit/credit card to make several purchases.
