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A new social media scam seeks to trick young people into depositing fake checks in exchange for paintings of the victims, according to a new Federal Trade Commission alert.

The scam begins with a direct message on social media from an “artist” saying they like the victim’s photo and want to pay the person thousands of dollars to use his or her likeness in a painting. The victims are then sent a check, told to deposit it and to take out money to send to the artist for the art supplies. By the time the person realizes the check was fake, “you’ll be out the money you sent the scammer and owe the bank any money you withdrew,” according to the agency.

“If someone you don’t know sends you a check and asks you to send money back to them or to someone else, it’s a scam,” the FTC said. “It’s best to only deposit checks from people you know and trust.”

When you order something online, you might get several emails or text messages about your order: Confirming your order. Telling you it shipped. Saying it's out for delivery. Notifying you about delivery.

Did you know that scammers send fake package shipment and delivery notifications to try to steal people's personal information — not just at the holidays, but all year long? Here's what you need to know to protect yourself from these scams.

The bogus stories the scammers deliver

The scammers send bogus messages by email or text. The message might say that you missed a delivery attempt and ask you to click on a link to re-schedule the delivery. Or it could say that your item is ready to ship but you need to update your shipping preferences. Some create a sense of urgency by saying if you don’t respond right away, they'll return your package to the sender.

They want you to click on the link without thinking about it and enter your personal or financial information. But the site is fake. A look-alike of a real website. And it’ll capture all the information you enter. The link could also install harmful malware on your phone or computer that steals your information. Things like your usernames and passwords to your online banking, email or social media accounts that scammers could use to steal your identity and open new accounts in your name.

What to do

• If you get a message about an unexpected package delivery that tells you to click on a link for some reason, don’t click.
• If you think the message might be legitimate, contact the shipping company using a phone number or website you know is real. Don’t use the information in the message.
• If you think it could be about something you recently ordered, go to the site where you bought the item and look up the shipping and delivery status there.
• No matter the time of year, it always pays to protect your personal information.

-- Federal Trade Commission reprint

Bath State Bank will be closed on Sat., Aug. 10th due to a software conversion. Our BSB locations will be closed to perform the necessary upgrades. We are sorry for any inconvenience; however, we will reopen as normal on Aug. 12th.

Our online banking, phone teller and ATMs will be available during the conversion period. Thank you.

Have you checked your U.S. Savings Bond maturity dates lately? Sometimes people hold U.S. Savings Bonds past the date of final maturity by accident as bonds are simply stashed away somewhere and forgotten.

Bath State Bank has the ability to redeem U.S. Savings Bonds for Bath State Bank customers only. If you find Bonds and you don’t have the ability to check the maturity date, we can help you with that.
The U.S. Treasury Dept. has $29 billion dollars worth of Savings Bonds on its books that have matured, yet are unredeemed (as of Oct. 2021.)

Check with your family to see if you own any U.S. Savings Bonds.
 

Thank You to Our Customers & Shareholders for helping us celebrate our 100th Anniversary! It was exciting to see almost 1,000 attend our Grand Celebration on Sat., June 22 at the Union County Fairgrounds. In addition, we are enjoying the numerous people dropping by Bath, West College Corner and Liberty for our Open House event. If you missed us this week, please stop by. We might have a few centennial goodies available. 

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO BATH STATE BANK! Our staff would love to see you at our Open House on Mon., June 24th during our regular business hours. Bath, West College Corner and Liberty will have special Centennial refrigerator magnets, locally-baked frosted sugar cookies, keepsake mugs, a collector Christmas ornament and drinks, while supplies last.

We thank you for your trusted business!

Bath State Bank will be closed on Wed., June 19th in observance of Juneteenth Freedom Day. Our online banking and phone teller are available for your convenience 24/7. 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION -- Today, Bath State Bank had a report that this happened to our phone number:

Have you noticed a Caller ID that is not the legitimate caller? Caller ID spoofing is the process of changing the Caller ID to any number other than the actual calling number. Caller ID spoofing happens when a caller knowingly falsifies the info transmitted to disguise the number they're calling from. The number that displays on your Caller ID “MAY LOOK” as though it's coming from a bank, government agency, business or even someone in your contacts list; however, it “COULD BE” an attempt to trick you to share personal info on the phone!

Do NOT give out any personal info. Identity thieves often pose as representatives of banks, credit card companies, creditors or government agencies to get account numbers, SSNs, mother's maiden names, passwords and other identifying info.

End the call immediately then call the phone number listed on the account statement /web site/phone book to determine if the request is legitimate.

Today, Bath State Bank had a report that this happened to our phone number. Please do NOT share your personal information and don't share your account/debit card numbers with anyone on the phone. Call us back if you are uncertain if we called you. Our number is on your statement, in the phone book and on our web site.

Caller ID spoofing is occurring throughout the telecommunications industry today. Landline, wireless and IP based telephone service providers are all experiencing this problem.

Hoxworth needs at least 30 donors to commit to helping Bath State Bank at our West College Corner Blood Drive on Friday, June 7th — 11:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Each donor at our blood drive will receive a free mini-physical. Those who register and donate will receive a free Reds-Hoxworth floppy hat!

Every two seconds someone needs blood for surgeries, emergencies, medical procedures and cancer treatments. To ensure an adequate blood supply to support patient usage in the 30 area hospitals served by Hoxworth Blood Center, a minimum of 350 volunteer blood donors and 40 volunteer platelet donors are needed every day.

If interested in donating blood, please call Cheryl at 765-732-3022 or set your appointment time at The Hoxworth web site or simply walk-in. 

Donating blood is a gift straight from your heart. We truly thank those unsung heroes who save lives by donating blood.