We are aware of an email scam in which an email that looks like it’s from First Interstate Bank claims to have an “important message” regarding the recipient’s account status.
The message uses what looks like a First Interstate email address and suggests the recipient’s account will be restricted if they don’t click to confirm account ownership.
This email is not from First Interstate Bank. First Interstate Bank has a policy of never asking a customer for personal financial information such as account numbers, balances, PINs, or credit card numbers via email.
If you receive this email or a similar message, do not respond to the email or click on any links within such a message. Do not provide your account information or any other personal information. Please forward any suspicious emails you receive to phishing@fib.com.
Email scams such as these--called phishing--use emails and websites to trick users into disclosing private account or login information.
To avoid falling victim to this or any scam, remember these tips:
- Do not respond to emails or phone calls asking for personal information, such as account number, usernames and passwords, Social Security Number, etc.
- Do not open a program, file, or attachment unless you know it is legitimate. Delete emails from unknown sources.
- Delete emails from unknown sources. Many email scams will use dramatic subject titles and count on recipients to be curious and open these emails.
- Do not reply or click on a link in an unsolicited email. If you receive an email that warns you an account will be shut down unless you confirm your personal information, contact the company cited in the email using a known telephone number.
- Do not open a program, file, or attachment unless you know it is legitimate. Even when you are confident an attachment is legitimate, it is still a good idea to run it through an updated virus scan program.
Many email scams will use dramatic subject titles, counting on recipients to be curious and open these emails. Often these emails are badly written, and they frequently use shortened or misspelled URLs or sender addresses. Here are some things to watch for:
- Suspicious email address
- Misspelled words
- Using scare tactics
- Links with suspicious URLs
- Attachments