BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — The Benton County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) is warning of a new "sophisticated" scam that has surfaced in the area.
"Scammers are now using a highly deceptive tactic by calling from a spoofed toll-free number associated with a reputable financial institution," BCSO said in a Facebook post.
The sheriff's office says that the scam caller poses as a representative from a financial institution using a toll-free number, offering to set up text alerts for fraud, which BCSO says "creates a false sense of legitimacy."
The scam caller then says that a second call will be made to provide a verification code to authorize a change.
BCSO says that an incident of this occurring was recently reported by a community member, who says they received a call from 800-456-3000, a spoofed number for Arkansas Federal Credit Union. The second call then came from 580-448-9159.
The Benton County Sheriff's Office provides the following action steps to help handle scams:
- Be cautious of unexpected calls, even from seemingly trustworthy sources
- Never share personal or financial information over the phone unless you initiate the call
- Verify any call by contacting the institution directly through official channels
If you do receive a scam call, BCSO says to do the following:
- Disconnect immediately
- Contact your financial institution using official contact details to verify the call
- Report the incident to local authorities and your bank's fraud team
"We encourage everyone to remain vigilant and share this information with friends and family. Scammers are constantly evolving their tactics, and awareness is our best defense," BCSO said. "Stay informed, stay vigilant, and protect yourselves."
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