Beneficial Bank was recently the target of a phishing scam,
Gloucester Township Police announced Tuesday morning.
Phishing occurs when an email or text message is
sent that pretends to be from a bank or major online merchant. The message will
ask the user to click on a link to verify their information due to some sort of
account problem.
The user is then directed to a fake web site that collects
their login and password information, which then is used by cyber-criminals to
steal money from their accounts.
Police advise residents to:
- Be suspicious of any urgent requests for personal
information for a security audit or survey or which contains threats to
close your account. - Be suspicious of unsolicited requests for Online
Banking username(s), password(s), account information, credit card
number(s) or check/debit card numbers and PINs. - Be suspicious of requests to share personal and
financial information. - Never use links in an unsolicited e-mail or text to
access a web page. - Do not fill out forms in messages asking for personal
financial information. - Regularly check your online account and your bank, credit
and debit card statements to make sure all transactions are legitimate.
Companies that already have your financial information will never ask for it
in this manner, and Beneficial Bank will never ask its customers to verify
their sensitive financial information
through unsolicited emails, text messages or telephone calls.
Residents who have received one of these e-mails, text messages, telephone
calls or have had any other form of unsolicited contact from individuals
seeking personal information about their accounts or suspect fraudulent
activity concerning their Beneficial Bank account should contact the bank directly
at 888.742.5272
and select Option 4, or send an email to datasecurity@thebeneficial.com.