Fraud Prevention

Enhanced Debit/Credit Card Fraud Prevention

In an effort to help protect you against increased international debit and credit card fraud, Wheatland Bank has implemented a block on all foreign activity.  It is essential that you make your local branch aware of any international travel plans and/or purchases made through a foreign merchant with your Wheatland Bank debit or credit cards. 

 

We May Be Contacting You

To protect you against debit and credit card fraud, we have enhanced our security system to include a sophisticated network.  Now, when a transaction appears to fall outside of your normal spending pattern, an alert is created. If a transaction made on your Wheatland Bank debit or credit card generates an alert, you will first receive a text message to verify the validity of the transaction. The text will indicate that it was generated by Wheatland Bank and will include the amount of the transaction in question, the last four digits of the card used and the merchant name. If the transaction is valid you will need to reply 'Yes' to the text message. If the transaction was not initiated by you, you will need to reply 'No' to the text message.

If you do not respond to the text message within two hours, a fraud analyst or automated voice system will contact you at your home or office to verify whether you authorized the transaction which does not appear to fit your historical card spending behavior. Please note that you will be asked for either your zip code or last four digits of your SS# to verify your identity, but as we have stated previously, we will never ask you for your account/card number. In order for this system to work correctly, it is critical that we have your current phone number(s) on file. Please contact your branch if you need to update this information.

• If the transaction is identified as valid, you will receive a text indicating that no further action is needed.
• If the transaction is confirmed as fraud, you will be alerted that there is a hold on your card and will be directed to call the bank for further investigation.
• Texts are only sent between 8AM and 9PM PST.
• If there is no response to the text message, the system will default to calling the cardholder.
• In order for this system to be effective, we must have a current mobile phone number on file. Please verify with your local branch that we do have the correct mobile number at which you can be reached.
• While Wheatland Bank does not charge any fees for this service, standard text messaging fees may be imposed by your carrier.

A sample of the text message you may receive is below.

If you would prefer to receive phone calls rather than text messages in response to alerts generated on your account, you will have the option to opt out.

Examples of transactions monitored for potentially fraudulent patterns are:

• A sudden string of costly purchases.
• A sudden change in locale (such as a US-issued card used overseas).
• Any pattern associated with new fraud trends around the world.

In some cases you may be declined at the merchant if the activity is considered extremely suspicious.

 

---