Several bank scams have occurred in our area.  Please take a moment and read the information below to help protect you or a family member from becoming a victim.  We are here to answer any questions you might have.
 
Check Scam

Several customers have notified us of a check scam appearing in our communities.  Recently, these customers received a check in the mail that gives the appearance of being a cash grant award.  Although the checks appear to be authentic, they are not real. 
 
The letter requests that the customer deposit or cash the enclosed check, then complete several instructions online at a website such as www.AwardGrant.com.  Once the check has been deposited or cashed and the instructions complete, a "commission" is electronically transferred from the customer's checking account to a phony account held by the scam artist.  The scam artist will then remove the customer's funds and close the phony account before the original award check has been returned to the bank of deposit as uncollectible.  The bank, of course, will charge the customer's account for the amount of the returned check and the customer is out the "commission" paid the scammer.
 
Please be on the look out for any questionable gifts, awards, or other checks you receive in the mail.  If in question, contact us immediately so we can help protect you.
 
Telephone Vishing Scam

If you receive an automated message from "The Peoples State Bank" requesting your account information, please do not provide any information over the phone.  Numerous customers have received this type of phone call, which mirrors a scam that targeted West Bend Savings Bank during the past six months.  West Bend Savings customers received automated phone calls telling them that their account had been compromised.  The automated message gives the customer a phone number to call.  Once the customer calls, they are prompted to key in their account number and PIN, and then enter new ones.  With the correct account number and PIN in hand, the scammers can then begin to drain the customer's account of funds.  So far, thousands of calls have been generated, most of which have been made over a weekend.
 
Summer "Backyard" Scammers

While you are planning a backyard barbeque, door-to-door scam artists and transient contractors are planning to take advantage of you.  Wisconsin summers provide an ideal background for transient home improvement workers to approach consumers, particularly the elderly, and pressure them into immediately hiring the worker's services.  Typically, they will insist you need painting, driveway blacktopping or yard work done immediately.  Some may even claim to have the equipment needed to do the work on the spot.  You may think you are getting a great deal given the price offered for the service performed.  However, when the work is actually done, it will most likely be of poor quality.  Some of these con artists are extremely good at what they do, which encourages them to return to their job every summer.
 
It's important that you be on guard and suspicious of people you don't know and who are trying to sell you something you don't need.  If you mistakenly give out financial information to a scam artist, call us immediately to minimize any unauthorized activity.