To our valued customers,

Citizens Bank has become aware of bad actors performing targeted social engineering attacks against business banking customers of various financial institutions.

What is happening?

Bad actors are using Voice Over IP (VOIP) systems to place calls to business banking customers. These calls spoof the financial institution’s phone number, with the caller posing as a Treasury Department employee. Once the pretext is established, the bad actors attempt to obtain sensitive account information to facilitate large, fraudulent ACH transfers.

After reviewing details available from this social engineering effort, we have determined that the bad actors appear to be using information publicly available from the Small Business Administration Payment Protection Program.

What action can you take?

Bad actors recognize that certain time periods—such as holidays or the summer travel season—can present an opportunity to take advantage of added distractions or staff covering unfamiliar roles.

• Stay vigilant and be aware of possible fraudulent calls, text messages, or other forms of communication.
• Never share sensitive information with anyone who contacts you claiming to be a bank representative.
• If you receive such a request, end the call immediately and call us back directly at (615) 327-9787 extension 300 to verify the request is legitimate.

Your security is our priority. Thank you for your continued partnership.