A telephone scam designed to obtain bank debit and credit card information from Trustmark National Bank customers had law enforcement and bank officials working together this morning in an attempt to prevent identity theft.

“Customers should not give out their numbers or portions of their numbers,” said Harold Hardin, chief information security officer for the Jackson-based Trustmark.

To contact Trustmark

Trustmark National Bank can be reached by calling 1-800-241-7547 or a local branch.

The scam is not contained to Vicksburg, but involves customers across the state and in Florida, Tennessee and Texas, said another Trustmark customer service representative who refused to give her name.

The scam consists of an automated message claiming to be from Trustmark security and telling the customer his or her account has been compromised by a third party and his or her bank card has been deactivated as a safety precaution. Listeners are then given the option to reactivate their cards by pressing keys to enter personal and account information.

“That’s the way the scam works, because they’ll then have enough information to access your account,” said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace. “We want to remind the public that your bank is never going to call you and ask for account information because your bank already knows that information. This is a very common scam and it’s something we try to make the public aware of continually with safety and identity theft programs.”

“We need customers to know that Trustmark does not initiate calls to customers asking for account numbers,” Hardin said.

Vicksburg police Lt. Bobby Stewart said the con artists’ programming wasn’t as sophisticated as designers might have wished. One call was logged to police headquarters about 8 p.m. “It’s been reported to the FBI and the Secret Service,” Stewart said.

The calls are computer generated and appear to originate from both Denver and Delaware, Stewart said, but the exact location had not yet been pin-pointed.

Officials were also unaware of the number of people who received calls and the number of people who input account information this morning.

“Trustmark is the only bank’s name being used in this, as far as we’ve been made aware,” said Pace. “But, no matter what bank you have or what the message said, people should never give out personal information.”

Those who provided information are asked to contact their bank immediately. The bank will then help with deactivating debit and credit cards, as well as put customers in touch with the appropriate law enforcement officers.

Staff writer Pam Hitchens contributed to this story.

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Contact Megan Holland at mholland@vicksburgpost.com.

Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com

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