(MyKeeneNow) The Savings Bank of Walpole has been the target of a phishing scam that prompted urgent warnings from bank officials during an interview on WKBK Radio.

Dominic Perkins, Senior Vice President and Senior Retail Banking Officer, and Danielle Ruffo, Vice President of Community Engagement and Marketing, joined host Dan Mitchell on the morning show to address the fraudulent activity.

The scam involved fraudulent text messages sent to both customers and non-customers of the bank. These messages falsely claimed there were unauthorized charges on the recipient’s accounts and included a link to address the issue. If recipients clicked the link, they were directed to a counterfeit website designed to resemble the bank’s official site, where they were prompted to enter login credentials.

Using the stolen credentials, fraudsters executed 100 external transfers from customer accounts. The bank has since intervened, assisting approximately 50 affected customers and working to recover any transferred funds. Customers were encouraged to file fraud affidavits as part of the recovery process.

Bank representatives reiterated their security policy, emphasizing that legitimate texts from the bank will never request customers to click on links or provide login information. Official communications will solely request transaction verifications through straightforward methods.

Perkins and Ruffo urged vigilance, advising customers to treat any unsolicited messages or calls with caution and to directly contact the bank with concerns.

In response to the incident, the Savings Bank of Walpole is taking several measures:

  • Continuing efforts to recover lost funds.
  • Educating the community on identifying and avoiding scams.
  • Collaborating with vendors to investigate the scam’s origins.
  • Strengthening protections to safeguard customer accounts.

Listen to the full interview with Dan Mitchell: