AlertFRAUD ALERTAlert

If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the Fraud Department and asking for personal or account information, please hang up immediately. We have been notified that fraudulent calls appear to be coming from our phone number. Farmers & Merchants Bank will NEVER call you and ask for your account number, debit card number, PIN, or online banking information. If you are unsure about a call, hang up and call the bank directly using the number you know and trust. Please share this message to help protect others.

Thanks.

Indentity Theft Information

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Get Your Free Credit Report

Your Credit report contains information about you, including what accounts you have and your bill paying history. The law requires the major nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to give you aFREE copy of your credit report each year IF you ask for it.  
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Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call 1-877-322-8228, a service created by these three companies, to order your free credit reports each year. You can also write: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P O Box 105281, Atlanta GA 30348-5281.
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Reviewing your financial accounts and billing statements regularly, looking for charges you did not make will help you catch any identity theft.

identity-theft

Identity Theft Victims:  IMMEDIATE STEPS

If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following steps as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence. 
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  • Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports. 
  • ​Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too.
  • Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374- 0241​
  • Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
  • ​​TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790 ​
  • Once you place the fraud alert in your file, you’re entitled to order free copies of your credit reports, and, if you ask, only the last four digits of your SSN will appear on your credit reports.
  • Once you get your credit reports, review them carefully. Look for inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open, and debts on your accounts that you can’t explain.
  • Check that information, like your SSN, address(es), name or initials, and employers are correct.
  • If you find fraudulent or inaccurate information, get it removed. See Correcting Credit Reports to learn how.
  • Continue to check your credit reports periodically, especially for the first year after you discover the identity theft, to make sure no new fraudulent activity has occured.

How identity thieves GET your personal information:

They get information from businesses or other institutions by:

  • stealing records or information while they’re on the job 
  • bribing an employee who has access to these records 
  • hacking these records 
  • conning information out of employees
  • They may steal your mail, including bank and credit card statements, credit card offers, new checks, and tax information. 
  • They may rummage through your trash, the trash of businesses, or public trash dumps in a practice known as “dumpster diving”.
  • They may get your credit reports by abusing their employer’s authorized access to them, or by posing as a landlord, employer, or someone else who may have a legal right to access your report.
  • They may steal your credit or debit card numbers by capturing the information in a data storage device in a practice known as “skimming”. They may swipe your card for an actual purchase, or attach the device to an ATM machine where you may enter or swipe your card.
  • They may steal your wallet or purse.
  • They may complete a “change of address form” to divert your mail to another location. 
  • They may steal personal information they find in your home. 
  • They may steal personal information from you through email or phone by posing as legitimate companies and claiming that you have a problem with your account. This practice is known as “phishing” online, or pretexting by phone. 

How identity thieves use your personal information:

  • They may call your credit card issuer to change the billing address on your credit card account. The imposter then runs up charges on your account. Because your bills are being sent to a different address, it may be some time before you realize there’s a problem.
  • They may open new credit card accounts in your name. When they use the credit cards and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent accounts are reported on your credit report. 
  • They may establish phone or wireless service in your name.
  • They may open a bank account in your name and write bad checks on that account.
  • They may counterfeit checks or credit or debit cards, or authorize electronic transfers in your name, and drain your bank account. 
  • They may file for bankruptcy under your name to avoid paying debts they’ve incurred under your name, or to avoid eviction.
  • They may buy a car by taking out an auto loan in your name.
  • They may get identification such as a driver’s license issued with their picture, in your name. 
  • They may get a job or file fraudulent tax returns in your name.
  • They may give your name to the police during an arrest. If they don’t show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name. 

If your Personal Information has been LOST or STOLEN:

If you’ve lost personal information or identification, or if it has been stolen from you, taking certain steps quickly can minimize the potential for identity theft.

  • Financial accounts: Close accounts, like credit cards and bank accounts, immediately. When you open new accounts, place passwords on them. Avoid using your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your Social Security number (SSN) or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.​
  • Social Security number: Call the toll-free fraud number of any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies and place an initial fraud alert on your credit reports. An alert can help stop someone from opening new credit accounts in your name. See consumer reporting company contact information. For more information about fraud alerts, see the Fraud Alerts box.​
  • Driver’s license/other government-issued identification: Contact the agency that issued the license or other identification document. Follow its procedures to cancel the document and to get a replacement. Ask the agency to flag your file so that no one else can get a license or any other identification document from them in your name.


Once you’ve taken these precautions, watch for signs that your information is being misused. 
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If your information has been misused, file a report about the theft with the police, and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, as well. If another crime was committed for example, if your purse or wallet was stolen or your house or car was broken into report it to the police immediately.

Debit Card Fraud Department

  • Our fraud dept. monitors 24/7 and may TEXT or use an automated system but will never ask for card information. 
  • If they text you, please reply. (Please make sure Farmers & Merchants Bank has your current cell phone number.)
  • If they call, they may leave a toll free number and a case number for the customer to call and verify the transaction(s). They may ask for some identifying information to verify that they are talking to the cardholder and not someone else. 
  • If you have questions or concerns, please contact Farmers & Merchants Bank.