Recently, an industry-wide rise in telephone scamming attempts has come to fruition, targeting financial institutions large and small. The goal is to get victims to give up passwords, temporary access codes and personal information by getting them to believe they are speaking to an authority figure from a trusted financial institution.

Scamming technology gets more sophisticated all the time—the recent uptick in illicit activity has been notable because of scammers’ ability to impersonate phone numbers and SMS text numbers from reputable and trusted sources. There is no fool-proof plan for avoiding scams, as people are targeted at random.

Remember when assessing a potential scam:

• If you think a phone call alleging to be from Ascend is suspicious, don’t give out any information. Hang up and call our main line 800-342-3086.
• Keep log-in credentials and personal passwords private and never give them out during an unsolicited phone call.

• Remember: Ascend representatives will NEVER ask you for your password during a call and NEVER ask you to text a password or one-time six-digit access code to us—even if you see the request from a number recognized as an Ascend number, do not comply with the request.
• Ascend representatives will NEVER ask you to log in to our online banking platform during a call.

• Educate yourself about common scam practices. For example, the IRS will never ask for payments over the phone and usually reaches out via the mail before a phone call is initiated.
• If an unsolicited caller asks you to verify your personal information or address, ask what financial institution they are calling on behalf of and then hang up and call that institution's main number.

If you think you have been victimized by a scam, call us immediately at 800-342-3086. Your protection is our priority.