Montecito Bank & Trust alerting customers of text scams after several cases reported

A high number of Montecito Bank & Trust customers received a text on their phones on Thursday claiming to be from the bank, but the bank says it was a scam.

“Scammers are currently sending text messages impersonating banks. These text messages will ask for debit card information (number, expiration and cvv code) in order to unlock a suspended account. DO NOT REPLY TO OR CALL THIS NUMBER!” stated an email alert from Montecito Bank & Trust sent to its customers.

A resident posted an image of the text alert received on Nextdoor which instructed the user to call a particular telephone number.

“Montecito Bank & Trust will never call to ask you to provide information like this, and it is always best to reach out to us directly whenever you are in doubt. If you have any questions or you inadvertently replied to a scam message similar to this, contact our Service Center, M-F, 7am-6pm, at (805) 963-7511,” said the bank’s email.

Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, or Bell customers can report text scams to their carrier by copying the original message and forwarding it to the number “7726” (SPAM), for free. You can also report the phone number and fraudulent message at https://www.ftc.gov.

To learn more about common scams and what you can do to keep your information safe, visit https://montecito.bank/cybersecurity.