Security Alerts

Gift cards are a favorite for stuffing stockings, folding into a Christmas card, or gifting to a friend or loved one – but they’re also a favorite strategy for scammers.

At First Merchants, your security is our number one priority. To help ensure our customers have the most up-to-date information on how they can keep their personal information and their assets safe and secure, we’ve put together an updated list of red flags to help you avoid a trending scam.

As Americans crunch numbers to get the most out of their tax returns, scammers lurk just around the corner. Bad actors often take advantage of tax season anxiety to cause confusion and trick people out of their hard-earned money or their personal information. So, as you gather your documents and dust off your tax forms, First Merchants Bank encourages you to be on your guard against suspicious phone calls, emails, or postal mail – especially against:

Multiple types of fraud are on the rise, especially through texts and mobile phones. Please be extra careful and aware. Beware of texts that appear to be from the bank and the sender later asks you for your account information, online banking credentials, or codes that are texted to you by First Merchants Bank.

In a current text scam, fraudsters send text messages or make phone calls to customers claiming to be from First Merchants. Fraudsters may try to create panic by claiming to alert customers to fraudulent activity.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has created an urgent need for the most up-to-date information, which can make it difficult for users to ensure they are clicking on reliable resources. Situations like this can play to a fraudster’s advantage. Malicious activity related to COVID has been seen coming through just about every channel: email, social media, text and phone messages, and misleading or malicious websites.