Fraud Prevention & How to Keep Your Information Secure
Sandy Spring Bank takes the protection of your personal information very seriously. We offer a variety of fraud protection services including:
- Fraud monitoring.
- Multi-Factor Authentication and enhanced passcodes.
- SecurLOCK Equip - a mobile app that allows you to control how, when, and where your debit and/or credit cards are used.
- Positive Pay for our business clients.
- Built in chip and contactless technologies for our debit card clients.
- The ability to set up a number of different account alerts.
There's also a lot you can do to protect yourself. Below are a series of fraud and security FAQs to arm you with knowledge to help keep you safe.
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What can I do to help protect my accounts and identity?
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What do I do if I notice unusual account activity?
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What do I do if I receive a suspicious email, call or text?
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What is check fraud (including Mule Scams) and how do I protect myself?
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What is phishing and how do I protect myself?
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What is ATM fraud and how do I protect myself?
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What is a Peer to Peer (P2P) Payment scam and how do I protect myself?
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What is a wire transfer scam and how do I protect myself?
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I’m a Senior or I’m caring for a Senior and fraud is a concern. What should we know?
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I’m a business owner and have concerns about email compromise fraud. What should I know and how can I protect the company?
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I’m a business owner and have concerns about account takeover fraud. What should I know and how can I protect the company?
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I’m a business owner and have concerns about payments fraud. What should I know and how can I protect the company?
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What if I have more questions?
Fraud Prevention Tips
What is check fraud including Mule Scams and how do I protect myself?
Check fraud takes different forms, including:
- Forgery — Either by completely faking a check or check washing, when a fraudster uses chemicals to “wash” key information from a real check to replace with their own.
- Check Kiting — Writing a check for an amount greater than what is in the account at another bank.
- Mule Scam — This type of fraud is on the rise and has been targeting young adults on social media. The scammer offers to pay the victim to use one of their photos. The fraudster pays by check, but for a larger amount than agreed to. The criminal asks the victim to take the overage and send it to the artist for supplies. This is a scam, by the time you realize what happened you'll have lost the money you sent.
How to Protect Yourself
- Always closely monitor your bank account for unusual activity.
- Do not leave letters or bills containing a completed check in your mailbox; instead, drop it off at the post office.
- Move away from using checks altogether either through resources available on Personal Digital Banking or our mobile app.
If you suspect that you are a victim of check-related related fraud, reach out to the Client Service Center at 800.399.5919. Be sure to also file a report with the police and the Federal Trade Commission.