At MidWestOne Bank, protecting your privacy is one of our highest priorities. The banking industry is experiencing a rise in fraudulent activity and MidWestOne Bank is no exception. There has been an uptick in activity involving fraudulent phone calls, texts, and emails from scammers pretending to be from MidWestOne Bank, so we've added additional safeguards to keep you protected.
Actions you can IMMEDIATELY take to not fall victim to these fraud incidents:
- Never give out your usernames, passwords or tokens.
- If someone calls you and says they are from MidWestOne Bank, feel free to hang up and call back using numbers you have received from the company. These could include numbers from banker’s business cards, statements, or the official bank website.
- Never click on links in an email or a text sent to you from suspicious calls that are provided while you are on the phone.
Please know that:
- MidWestOne Bank will never ask you for your login credentials, passwords, tokens, or multifactor authentication (MFA) codes.
- MidWestOne bank employees will never take offense to a customer’s desire to hang up and call back.
- MidWestOne Bank will not email or text login links or request your credentials while you are on the phone.
If you suspect fraud, or you feel unsure about the conversation, please hang up and call your banker or MidWestOne Bank’s service center phone number, which is 800-247-4418 (this number can also be confirmed on the MidWestOne Bank website). This action will terminate the fraudsters’ attempt to spoof MidWestOne Bank.
“Spoofing” is the action fraudsters take to make a number appear like it is from MidWestOne Bank. Using freely available software, anyone can modify a number and make it look like it is from the bank. It is natural that you would trust a number that looks like it comes from MidWestOne Bank. The fraudsters use this trust to get information from you.
Examples of Recent Fraudulent Activity
Below are two recent cases of fraud that have occurred within our service area. Please review them and reach out with any questions. Thank you for being a valued customer, and please, stay vigilant and alert.
Example One
A customer received a phone call appearing to be from MidWestOne Bank (spoofing our numbers), and the person stated they were either from a MidWestOne branch, the MidWestOne Fraud Department or Treasury Management Services.
The customer engaged with the fraudster and was told, “fraudulent activity has been detected on your account. In order for me to assist you, I am sending you a link to confirm your credentials.”
This is an image of the text message sent to the customer. This can look legitimate given the registered trademark and information security message.
The customer was then presented with the following message and the fraudster gained access to their account. Again, the message looks legitimate because it uses the logo and provides a reference number. These types of texts are used to make you feel secure that you’ve spoken to someone at the bank and there is no need to follow up, giving the fraudsters time to access your accounts.
Example Two
A business customer received a fraudulent phone call and was asked to verify their phone number. Once the customer gave them their phone number, they were sent the text message below, followed by a link, which asked them to enter their credential information, including a soft token.
The fraudster was able to change the customer’s contact information (phone and email addresses) and created a sub-user who had the ability to send payments including a wire and ACH.
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We have provided this link for your convenience and are not responsible for the content, links, privacy policy, or security policy of this website.
Email is not a secure method of data transfer. Personal and confidential information should not be sent via email. Please contact MidWestOne Bank if you need to provide confidential information.
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