National Bank (B'Burg) Reports Another Phone Scam

Area residents are again reporting a rash of scam phone calls requesting confidential debit card and account information from National Bank of Blacksburg customers.

The fraudulent automated calls say that they are from the National Bank of Blacksburg, but they are from criminals trying to trick people into giving account information, say bank officials. The current round of calls appears to be a continuation of a large-scale phishing attack that began in mid-April and used fake e-mails, text messages and phone calls.

James G. Rakes, National Bank’s Chairman, President & CEO, says, “National Bank never asks for customer information by e-mail, phone or text message, except in direct response to a bona fide customer request. We encourage any of our customers who may have responded to these fake messages to contact the bank immediately.”

Rakes says, “Law enforcement officials tell us that since January there have been more than 20 phishing attacks directed at community banks all over the country. These cyber criminals are trading on the fact that customers have a trusting relationship with their local bank. We want to emphasize once again that the bank’s own computer system has not been compromised, and the bank is not the source of any information, including phone numbers.”