M&T Bank warns of phishing scam surge

Henrietta, N.Y. (WHAM) - A phishing scam is taking aim at M&T Bank customers. The Buffalo-based bank is alerting customers to keep them from losing personal information.

According to M&T Bank, the scam involves a text message saying your account or cards have been restricted.

The text message looks legitimate and is made to look like the M&T login page.

“Oh my God,” said M&T Bank customer Mercidita Natividad. “At first...this isn't from M&T? I would believe this is from M&T.”

The message sent to some cells phones claims it's from M&T Bank and says your account has been locked. The text then asks the person to click on the link to unlock the account.

“It was pretty scary,” said Redwan Muzahid of Rochester. “Everything's online now. Everything - people buying and shopping, and it can be scary, especially banking-wise.”

Once you click on the link, you're asked to enter your user ID, social security number, card and pin number to unlock the account.

At the end of the process, a screen appears stating the account has been restored.

This is known as a phishing scam. Email or text messages are designed to trick you so that scammers can steal your personal and financial information.

M&T Bank customer Amy Smith was a target. The Henrietta resident said she got the text around Christmas.

“Right away we knew it's probably a scam,” she said. “I think it's a real shame. I think it's a crime and I think they should be punished.”

M&T Bank spokesperson Julia Berchou sent a statement confirming it has seen an increase in phishing cases.

The bank is advising people to delete the message or forward it to phishing@mtb.com.

The bank is reminding people to never provide sensitive information in deceitful messages.

The statement said M&T Bank does not send emails or text messages asking for a customer's login credentials, PINs, passwords or personal information.

“Just the fact that they wanted personal information, like our social security, our account number – no we're not going to give that out especially on the telephone,” said Smith.

M&T Bank has these additional tips for customers:

Never use the same password across different sites

Be cautious of any demands requesting urgent or immediate action

If you question the legitimacy of a request, contact the source directly

M&T Bank told 13WHAM that no bank is immune to this type of scam. Berchou said phishing scams are an industry-wide issue. She said if you believe you've been scammed and have money missing from your account, stop at your local branch, or call customer service and they will compensate you.