Educational Piece of the Month – How to Prevent Fraud in The Holiday Season 

The holiday season is full of opportunities to spend time with loved ones and celebrate the previous year’s events together. As you purchase gifts for those special people and pick up the groceries for your favorite shared meal, keeping your financial security in mind is essential. 

• Pause before you click. During this time of year, phishing scams reach their annual peak. If you receive an email or text that you did not expect that makes bold claims about owing money, don’t click on any embedded links. Check if the email address is from an official source. When all else fails, call customer support to see if there is a real problem or if someone’s looking for your personal information.
• Track your expenses. Knowing where your money is going can be the first step in identifying an issue. Stay safe with Casey State Bank this holiday season by downloading our mobile app or applying for our online banking. Monitor your purchases, transfer funds, and more from your phone or computer.
• Be careful how you pay. No legitimate business will require you to purchase a pre-paid gift card or directly send your PIN. A seller seeking more financial information than is usually necessary deserves a thorough review.
• Report suspicious activity. If you become a victim of fraudulent activity, or if you note an email you know is not from a reliable source, you can report it directly to the FBI. Their Internet Crime Complaint Center is equipped to handle all manners of fraud that occur online.

If you’re looking for a little extra cash, picking up a seasonal job is a great idea. However, the sites marketing jobs during these winter months can be just as rife with holiday scams as those selling consumable products. Remember a few key tips when picking up a side gig:

• Do your research. If you find a hiring notice online, even for a well-known business, do a separate Google search of their job openings in another tab. If the same job is on their official website, feel free to apply! If not, be cautious. Some scammers like to pose as trusted brands to lure people in more quickly.
• Know your sources. No matter the time of year, it’s vital to search for jobs solely on reliable sites. Look for work on trusted job boards and websites to cut down on your vetting process.
• Ask around. It can be challenging to verify whether or not a business you’ve only heard of online is real. Ask a trusted friend or colleague what they think of the job offer. Getting a second set of eyes on the situation might mean the difference between accepting a genuine offer and getting scammed.
• Never pay to work. Some scammers will promise a job to unsuspecting applicants under the condition that they supply some form of down payment upfront. No legitimate job source will make receiving payment a criterion for hiring.

No matter what you’re up to this holiday season, do it securely with the reliability of community banking. At Casey State Bank, we give our customers access to various personal banking options that help secure the futures they dream of. To explore our range of offerings, or to talk to a financial expert about your next move, contact us today.