(This is the third part of Brian Hauswirth’s three-part series on fraud)
The president of Jefferson Bank in Jefferson City warns that they’re seeing an uptick in various scams.
Jefferson Bank president and chief executive officer Brandy Bryant tells 939 the Eagle that the bank is working to educate the community on the various scams. She says scammers are pressuring residents to move quickly:
“Well we need people to slow down and ask somebody else’s opinion before they convert their cash to gold and move their money around,” Ms. Bryant says.
Other scams include identity fraud and some scammers impersonate banks.
Mid-Missouri bank executives say fraud is a multi-billion dollar business. Central Bank of Boone County vice president Sarah Moreau tells 939 the Eagle that wire scams are common and that scammers are convincing some people that their money isn’t safe at the bank:
“And I’ve seen situations where someone gets a call from someone claiming to be a federal agent: very official, very serious. They tell them their accounts are compromised, they need to act quickly to protect their funds,” says Moreau.
Moreau says scammers get some people to provide personal information, which the scammers then use to open accounts at other banks.
Anyone who has been scammed should call their bank and local law enforcement, along with the Missouri attorney general’s office.