Many people were victims of fraud in 2023, according to a survey of consumers.
“There are about 260 million adults in the U.S. and about 94% have bank accounts,” said Tony Ateca during a presentation to the Rotary Club of Aiken on Monday at Newberry Hall. “That’s 244 million adults with bank accounts, and 50% experienced personal banking fraud last year — one year, 122 million people. [The survey’s results included] a similar stat for debit and credit card fraud.”
Ateca is the executive vice president of Security Federal Bank, which has 19 branches in South Carolina and Georgia. He also serves as the bank’s chief administrative officer.
Accessing bank and credit information online is one way to prevent fraud “because you don’t want to get those statements in the mail,” Ateca said. “Those statements in the mail get stolen.”
In addition, it’s easy to check the information frequently online.
“Young people are constantly checking to see if there are fraudulent transactions, especially if they use debit cards,” Ateca said.
Other suggestions to prevent or mitigate fraud mentioned by Ateca included the following:
• Update the security software on personal electronic devices.
• Report fraudulent transactions and suspicious activity immediately.
• Switch to paperless billing and financial statements.
• Check personal credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.
• Consider putting a fraud alert or freeze on credit reports.
• File tax returns as early as possible.
• Shred financial documents
• Don’t use public Wi-Fi for email, social media or online shopping.
• Avoid giving personal information to anyone on the phone you don’t know.
Bank Secrecy Act Officer Sarah Rideout of Security Federal also spoke to the Rotary Club on Monday.
