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Phone scammers target bank patrons SCAM: Police and bank officials are warning Newark and Lyons debit card holders not to give information out over the telephone.
By TRACEY CURRY NEWARK - When Nancy Jones answered the telephone at her West Union Street hair salon, she expected to schedule another appointment. Instead, she was greeted by a recording telling her that her Lyons National Bank debit card may had been compromised. 'The recording said they detected a fraudulent claim on my bank card,' she said. 'If I answered three questions and gave them a series of numbers and the debit card number, they would reinstate my card.' Jones hung up on the recording with California telephone number (510) 123-4567 and called her local bank branch in Newark. When the number is called, a recording says the call cannot be completed as dialed. She thought 'oh my God, what's wrong with my account and who is using my card?' Head of bank security Randy Phillips said the bank began receiving similar calls across all its branches Wednesday morning. The company has been working with the Lyons Police Department to track phone numbers and alert the public. According to a press release issued by the Lyons Police Chief Michael R. Donalty, the phone scam is a computer- generated recorded telephone message that randomly dials '946' and '331' phone exchanges in the 315 area code. 'They way it works is the bad guys wherever they may be come up with a bank name on the Internet and target that area,' Phillips said. 'This time they targeted Lyons and Newark phone number prefixes.' Phillips warns residents that if they receive a recorded call, to not, under any circumstances, give out any information. He stressed that the calls are not coming from Lyons National Bank and that the bank has not experienced a security breach of its credit card system. Phillips said Wednesday afternoon that he was not aware of anyone who'd fallen victim to the scam.
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