Greg's Corner

Bank promotion leads to identity theft

Charlotte, North Carolina is one of the major banking capitals of the US. While the primary banking center of the country is New York City, Charlotte has traded the #2 spot with San Francisco for many years. Many national banks either have their corporate headquarters in Charlotte or have a large corporate presence there. Unfortunately, this large banking presence has not stopped bank scams from happening as the local police recently found out.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have said they recently encountered dozens of residents who have had bank accounts opened in their name. The residents have said that they’ve received letters in the mail thanking them for opening accounts with PNC Bank. Some of the letters even have debit cards included with them. PNC seems to be the target of this scam since they’re running a promotion where a customer can receive $300 for opening an account.

It’s believed that the residents targeted in this scam must have had their private information leaked in a previous data breach. While reports have not stated it, in similar scams, scammers have had debit and credit cards sent to the victims home address where the scammer is watching the mail so they can intercept the card.

If you receive a letter like this from PNC or any other bank, you need to act immediately. Call the bank at the customer service number that’s provided with the letter to tell them you did not open that account. It’s also recommended that you contact your local police department as well. Then it’s strongly recommended that you put a freeze on your credit. You can also get a credit alert that will notify you if anyone tries to open credit using your information.