Fraud Education

April 2021 SCAM ALERT:  Home Warranty Coverage Letters from US Home Guard

We have received reports that Farmers State Bank customers are receiving mailings from US Home Guard and contains a notice that their property's home warranty "may be expiring or may have expired."  

This final notice appears to be affiliated with the bank.  At Farmers State Bank, we are committed to protecting our customers' personal information, and the bank does not sell or otherwise distribute personal information to non-affiliate third parties.  Regardless of what lender a consumer works with, however, some information about mortgages is public record, and this is how scammers capitalize and obtain your contact information.  

We encourage you to disregard this letter and treat it as you would other junk mail you receive.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at 217-285-5000.

 

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Fraud Education Tips

At Farmers State Bank, we have a variety of techniques to ensure that your financial information is secure. 

Here is what you can expect from Farmers State Bank in the case of fraud:

  • A text alert from Farmers State Bank warning of suspicious activity on your card will NEVER include a link to be clicked. Never click on a link in a text message that is supposedly from us. A valid notification will provide information about the suspect transaction and ask the cardholder to reply to the text message with answers such as ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘help’, or ‘stop’. It will never include a link.
  • A text alert from us will always be from a 5-digit number and NOT a 10-digit number resembling a phone number. Our text caller ID is 37268.   
  • A phone call from our institution’s automated dialer will only include a request for your zip code, and no other personal information, unless you confirm that a transaction is fraudulent. Only then will you be transferred to an agent who will ask questions to confirm that you are the actual cardholder before going through your transactions with you. If at any point you are uncertain about questions being asked or the call itself, hang up and call us directly at (217)285-5616. If a call is received by the cardholder, claiming to be our call center and asking to verify transactions, no information should have to be provided by the cardholder other than their zip code, and a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the transaction provided.
  • We will NEVER ask you for your PIN or the 3-digit security code on the back of your card. Don’t give them out to anyone, no matter what they say. Hang up and call us directly at(217)285-5616. Fraudsters will often ask cardholders to verify fake transactions. When the cardholder says no, they did not perform those transactions, the fraudster then says that their card will be blocked, a new card will be issued, and that they need the card’s PIN to put it on the new card. Many people believe this and provide their PIN. The 3-digit CV2 code on the back of the card will allow a fraudster to conduct card-not-present transactions.
  • Regularly check your account online to see if there are any suspicious transactions that have occurred, but especially If you are unsure about a call or text message you’ve received. If anything looks amiss, call us directly for assistance at (217)285-5616.
  • If you have received a voice- or a text-message from us and are unsure about responding to it, call us directly for assistance at (217)285-5616.