BURLINGTON, Vt. -
If you have an 802 number, you've probably received a phony call or text message from an automated system pretending to be a Merchants Bank representative. We want you to know this is a scam and that you should not give out your banking information.
When South Burlington resident, Mark Haverty's phone rang Sunday night, the number was only four digits long. "I know if it comes up as too few or too many numbers, it's from out of the country," Haverty said.
It didn't take long for him to know something wasn't right, especially when the automated system posing as Merchant's Bank asked for personal information and indicated there was a problem. "The message said there's a problem with your debit card, we need you to... and at that point, I hung up," Haverty said.
Haverty isn't a Merchants Bank customer, but he did know this was a scam and reported the phony call to police.
This is what the automated message says: "Hello, this is an official notification from Merchants Bank, informing you that your MasterCard needs to be updated for security reasons. To begin the update process, please press 1 now."
So far out of the thousands of people who have received calls or text messages, just a handful have fallen victim to the scam. "We have had cases where customers have divulged their 16-digit debit card numbers and their pins and we're working with them immediately to cancel those cards," Executive VP of Merchants Bank, Thomas Leavitt said.
Leavitt says they're doing everything to identify where the calls are coming from. "It's going to take some really strong law enforcement and cyber work to track it down."
Even still, Leavitt says he's sure there's been no breach of Merchants Bank data and people's personal information. "In no way shape or form have Merchants Banks systems been compromised," Leavitt said.
If you're like Mark Haverty who got the call but hung up, you don't need to report anything to Merchants Bank, but if you revealed any of your personal information, let the bank or police know.
