Denton County residents victims of phishing scams

by Staff of of Lantana Links

An international phishing scam involving at least one local bank continues to keep authorities busy.

Ever since before Christmas, thieves have made phone calls and sent e-mails and text messages to hundreds of residents throughout Denton County, asking for their PointBank bank account information.

Their efforts have paid off. One estimate has pegged losses at over a quarter million dollars.

Some individuals who aren't even PointBank customers have responded to the calls with their own bank information, authorities said.

The messages state that your bank account has been frozen, and ask you to call a toll-free number to avoid the cancellation of your account. In recent cases, the number on the caller ID even shows the bank's name.

"We can not emphasize this enough; please do not give out your account information to anyone," said Ray David, Jr., President of PointBank.

David said that the bank is working closely with authorities to prevent more people from falling prey to these modern-day thieves.

"It is very important for our customers to know that this is not the work of a hacker, and no account information has been taken through our secured systems," said David. "Unfortunately, the people who have been victimized...willingly gave their account information directly to the phishers via email or phone."

If you think you've been a victim of the scam, contact your bank immediately.