CPB report increased fraudulent calls, emails to customers

HONOLULU — Central Pacific Bank customers have been receiving an increasing number of calls and emails from fraudsters posing as bank employees attempting to gain access to their accounts.

What You Need To Know

With imposter scams, fraudsters acting as representatives of legitimate entities such as banks or government agencies contact customers to obtain information such as account credentials, account numbers or even social security numbers

In spoofing, scammers manipulate phone numbers or email addresses to appear as if they are coming from a legitimate entity such as a bank

Phishing emails appear to come from a credible source but aim to trick the recipient into providing sensitive financial information or performing an action such as clicking a fraudulent link

“Unfortunately, we have received increased notifications from our customers of (receiving) suspicious phone calls and emails from ‘Bad Actors’ posing as CPB employees or legitimate agencies attempting to gain access to their accounts,” stated CPB Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Manny Edmondson in the release. “While our data systems have not been compromised, being diligent and cautious are key to maintaining the integrity of one’s account information.”

Edmondson said this is known as an “imposter scam,” just one of a variety of cybercrimes that CPB wants to inform the public about so they can protect themselves.

With imposter scams, fraudsters acting as representatives of legitimate entities such as banks or government agencies contact customers to obtain information such as account credentials, account numbers or even social security numbers.

In spoofing, scammers manipulate phone numbers or email addresses to appear as if they are coming from a legitimate entity such as a bank.

Phishing emails appear to come from a credible source but aim to trick the recipient into providing sensitive financial information or performing an action such as clicking a fraudulent link.

“Customers should verify the identity of who they are dealing with and know that CPB or any bank would never ask for confidential account information over the phone, via email or text message,” according to Edmondson.

“Using two-factor authentication, never sharing your login credentials, avoid utilizing the same or similar passwords for email/social media and financial accounts such as online banking, investment/retirement accounts as well as regularly changing account credentials are basic safeguards everyone should observe,” said Edmondson.

CPB advises customers to contact their respective financial institution immediately if they think they have been a victim of cybercrime. CPB customers can call the Customer Service Center at 808-544-0500 or visit the nearest branch.

CPB also provides the following links for additional information: