Fraud Corner

Keeping fraud to a minimum has always been a high priority at AmBank. We do our best to protect you and avoid any fraud concerning your personal and account information. In today’s world fraud has become more prevalent and with the advancements in electronic banking it has become more challenging to prevent fraud from occurring. Fraudsters personally target you with their Social Engineering Schemes, such as phishing emails and false informative phone calls, as they continue coming up with new ways to get your personal and account information.

AmBank's goal is to keep you informed so that you may also be aware and protect yourself as much as possible. To assist with these matters AmBank has decided to add a new section to our website called AmBank Fraud Corner. You are invited to click here to learn about new fraud schemes and how to protect yourself and your loved ones. Remember, the best prevention is education!

September 1, 2011 FDIC ALERT

AmBank received this FDIC Alert today, September 1, 2011. We advice you to be cautious and aware when receiving emails from any sender. If you have any questions or concerns, please don.t hesitate to contact us at 575-534-0550.

SA-26-2011

September 1, 2011

SPECIAL ALERT

SUBJECT: Fraudulent "FDIC Notification" E-Mails with Attachment

Summary: E-mails with malware attachments that claim to be from the FDIC are reportedly in circulation. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from the FDIC and contain an infected attachment. The fraudulent e-mails have addresses such as “no.reply@fdic.gov” or “notify84zma@fdic.gov” on the “From” " line. The message appears, with spelling and grammatical errors, as follows:

Subject line: “FDIC notification”

Message body:

“Dear customer, Your account ACH and WIRE transaction have been temporarily suspended for security reasons due to the expiration of your security version. To download and install the newest installations read the document(pdf) attached below. As soon as it is setup, you transaction abilities will be fully restored.”

Best Regards, Online Security departament, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The e-mails contain an attachment “FDIC_document.zip” that will likely release malicious software if opened. These e-mails and attachments are fraudulent and were not sent by the FDIC. Recipients should consider these e-mails an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users' computers. Recipients should NOT open the attachment. 2

Financial institutions and consumers should be aware that these fraudulent e-mails may be modified over time with other subject lines, sender names, and narratives. The FDIC does not directly contact consumers, nor does the FDIC request bank customers to install software upgrades.

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents, and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC.s Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 3501 North Fairfax Drive, CH-11034, Arlington, Virginia 22226, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Questions related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC.s website at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2011/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

Attachment Paper copies of FDIC Special Alerts may be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center, 1-877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200. Distribution: FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings)

May 9, 2011 Silver City Phone Scam

AmBank has been notified that there is a phone scam concerning debit cards. The phone call is originated by an automated machine. On the phone call you are notified that there are some billing issues with your debit card. The best defense in situations like this, is to always be cautious as to whom you give your personal information to over the phone. As always, we here at AmBank are here to serve you. If you have any questions or concerns don't hesitate to give us a call.

On September 8, 2010, AmBank received a SPECIAL ALERT from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation stating:

Suspicious telephone calls claiming to be from FDIC employees are being reported. These calls appear to be illegal schemes to steal money or collect sensitive personal information, such as bank account numbers.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of suspicious telephone calls where the caller claims to represent the FDIC and is calling regarding the collection of an outstanding debt.

To date, the callers have alleged that the call recipient is delinquent in payment of a loan that was applied for over the Internet or made through a payday lender. The loan may or may not actually exist. The caller attempts to authenticate the claim by providing sensitive personal information, such as name, Social Security number, and date of birth, supposedly taken from the loan application. The recipient is then strongly urged to make a payment over the phone to “avoid a lawsuit and possible arrest.” In some instances, the caller is said to sound aggressive and threatening.

These suspicious telephone calls are fraudulent. Recipients should consider them as an attempt to steal money or collect personal identifying information. The FDIC generally does not initiate unsolicited telephone calls to consumers and is not involved with the collection of debts on behalf of operating lenders and financial institutions.

If a caller demonstrates that he or she has the recipient’s sensitive personal information, such as Social Security number, date of birth, and bank account numbers, the recipient may be the victim of identity theft and should review his or her credit reports for signs of possible fraud. The individual should also consider placing a “fraud alert” on his or her credit reports. This can be done by contacting one of the three consumer reporting companies listed below. Only one of the three companies needs to be contacted.
That company is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of the report.

• TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com;
• Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, California 92834-6790
• Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, Georgia 30374-0241
• Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9554, Allen, Texas 75013

Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC’s Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-3054, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Questions related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.htm.

Silver City Phone Message Scam

On June 14, 2010, one of our officers received a call from the Silver City Police Department warning of a scam that is going around Silver City that is having an affect on all banks and credit unions. Here is how the scam works:

A computer has all Silver City phone number in a data base. This computer is randomly calling customers and saying there is a problem with their account. The person being called is asked to push “9” for additional information. Once the customer pushes “9”, they are asked to enter there credit/debit card number and even their PIN (as a confirmation).

These illegitimate charges (debits) are now beginning to hit customer’s accounts in the area. This scam is coming from overseas from an unknown source. Please DO NOT give out any personal information.

If you have any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 575-534-0550.

Debit Card Compromise

On January 12, 2009, AmBank received notification of a possible compromise involving many debit card numbers. To avoid the threat of fraud, AmBank closed out all debit cards thought to have been affected by the compromise. Customers who were affected by this compromise were contacted and issued new cards.

Today, January 22, 2009, AmBank was notified that it was Heartland Payment Systems who experienced the breach. It has been reported that fraud, related to this compromise, mainly has occurred in Texas, California, Florida, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

AmBank is not aware of any fraudulent activity at this time in connection with any of our customers. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we will be glad to assist you. Thank you.

Telephone Phishing Scams

On December 22, 2008 AmBank was notified by PULSE Fraud Management of two phishing scams.

“A central Texas newspaper reported that text messages were sent last month to cell phone customers requesting them to call a bank in the Kerrville, Texas area and reactivate their debit cards. Callers to the number were prompted to provide personal information, such as debit card numbers or Pins. This scam is currently under police investigation.

In an unrelated incident, a Florida city utility department reported their customers have received automated calls requesting payment and a late fee for a utility bill. Customers were requested to provide card information over the phone for payment. These calls were also a scam.”

AmBank would like to remind customers that we do not attempt to retrieve personal information over the phone. Phone calls requesting such information should be ignored and reported to AmBank or the proper officials immediately. Thank you.

Email Phishing Scam

On September 18, 2008 one of AmBank’s customers became a target of an e-mail phishing scam. The
e-mail appeared to be authentic and stated to the customer that he/she had been locked out of their
account(s) due to a mismatch of customer information. It requested the customer to click on a link that will have him\her verify specific customer information.

AmBank would like to inform our customers that we do not attempt to verify customer information via e-mail. If you receive any e-mail requesting personal customer information, please do not respond to the e-mail. Such e-mails are more than likely phishing sham attempts.

To read more on phishing scams, you may click here and be redirected to the website www.OnGuardOnline.gov.