Watch Your Wallet! Email Fraud is Alive & Well.

Chances are that the item and pricing described in the email that followed did not match the item they had purchased, if they had in fact purchased anything at all. Whatever the case, the discrepancy was enough to prompt the victim to click on the (fake) link in the email, follow it to the (fake) website, and provide their log in information. In just seconds, the scam artists had exactly the information they were looking for.

Fraud can happen anywhere, anytime. It's not just confined to retail establishments and websites, or even to financial institutions. Criminals are posing as government agencies like the IRS and even as disaster relief organizations, all in the name of separating you from your hard-earned money. How can you protect yourself from these faceless villains? Let's take a look at a few things a reputable company won't do:

We won't contact you by phone or email and ask you for your account number, social security number, log-in, password or PIN.

We won't contact you by phone or email and ask you for your credit card number or credit card security code.

We won't ask you to verify your personal information by clicking on a link in an email.

A good rule of thumb to follow is to never disclose any personal identification information on a call or in an email or chat that you did not initiate using a known and published contact number or address.

If you think you've become a victim of one of these scams, or if you've received suspicious communications by email or phone, contact the company directly using a known and published contact number. If you are concerned about communications you've received from Southeast Financial or about activity on your Southeast Financial account, please contact us at 615-743-3700 or 800-521-9653.