Richmond, Scotland Co. residents warned of possible banking scam

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ROCKINGHAM — Regional residents are being warned about a possible banking scam.

Scotland County Sheriff Ralph Kersey posted a warning to his Facebook page Thursday saying that residents are “being notified by letter and phone calls of thanking them for opening new accounts at Vanguard as well as Navy Federal Credit Union.”

Kersey said in his post that there had been at least six such reports in Richmond County.

Capt. Randy Dover of the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office said the agency has not yet received any reports.

The sheriff urged residents not to respond to the letters or phone calls, but instead contact the N.C. Attorney General’s Office.

Kersey’s post was shared by the Rockingham Police Department, which reported a potential bank card scam in February. 

In that scenario, would-be victims were receiving Chase Bank debit cards in the mail, only to find out that someone had used the victims’ information to open the account.

According to the N.C. Attorney General’s Office, the state ranks 18th in identity theft.

The 2019 Data Breach Report found that 1.08 million North Carolinians were affected by data breaches that year, which was a 45% decrease from the previous year.

However, the 1,210 data breaches reported to the A.G.’s office that year was the highest ever. Around 75% of those breaches were due to hacking or phishing scams.

The A.G.’s office offers tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft including protecting your mail, passwords and computer transactions. For a full list visit: https://ncdoj.gov/protecting-consumers/protecting-your-identity/protect-yourself-from-id-theft/

 

bank, scam