A Freedom Bank debit card isn’t just a piece of plastic. It’s something that’s relied upon every day for groceries, gas, gifts, and so much more. Unfortunately, fraudsters are well aware that debit cards can allow them direct access to your bank account. To protect you from this, Freedom Bank utilizes state of the art fraud monitoring with a proactive, hands-on approach that keeps an eye on suspicious transactions. We know that sometimes this can be a frustrating and an inconvenient process for our customers and we are constantly trying to improve.

In response to the need for a more convenient form of fraud monitoring and notifying, we are introducing text alerts at the end of October. Text alerts are a brand-new debit card service feature that will increase card account security while decreasing instances of customers not being able to complete legitimate transactions.

How Debit Card Text Notifications Work

• You will receive a message within 15 seconds if a questionable transaction is being performed. Messages will always be from the short code 37268:

FreeMSG Freedom Bank MT Fraud Center 888-XXX-XXXX $125.46 on card 1234 at Merchant ABC. If valid reply YES, fraud NO. To Opt Out, STOP.

• If you reply ‘YES’, then you’ll receive this text message:

FreeMSG Freedom Bank MT Fraud Center 888-XXX-XXXX Thank you for confirming this activity. You may continue to use your card. To Opt Out reply STOP.

You will be able complete your transaction by running your debit card one more time after receiving this message from Freedom Bank.

• If you did not participate in the transaction reply ‘NO’, you will receive this text message:

FreeMSG Freedom Bank MT Fraud Center 888-XXX-XXXX Your response has placed a block on the card. Call us immediately at 888-XXX-XXXX, avail 24/7. To Opt Out reply STOP.

Your card will be restricted until you either contact the fraud number provided in the message, or Freedom Bank at (406) 892-1776:

How to Gain Access to This New Feature

This feature is free to all card holders with a cell phone. To ensure you can take advantage of this new debit card feature please make sure all contact information is up to date with Freedom Bank. You can do this either by calling (406) 892-1776 or by stopping by the bank at 530 9^th St. West Columbia Falls, MT. If you decide you do not want to receive further text messages, just text STOP to Opt Out.

How to Identify Fake Messages

Fake messages from scammers will look very similar to those sent by any financial institution. These messages are designed to scare or confuse you and create a sense of urgency usually the text message will reference high dollar amounts. These scammers want you to believe they are from Freedom Bank and will most likely have researched you beforehand. They may look like:

Free Msg- (Insert financial institution name here) Bank Fraud Alert- Did You Attempt an Instant Payment in the amount of                                                                                                          $5,000.00? REPLY YES or NO or 1 To STOP ALERTS

If you reply ‘NO’ they will send a second message saying you will be contacted shortly.

When the scammer calls, they may:

• Provide you with your personal information such as addresses, social security number, and last four digits of bank accounts to verify their legitimacy.
• Request account information.
• Ask you to change personal information in your online or mobile banking account like phone numbers or email.
• They will pretend to walk you through ‘reversing’ or ‘canceling’ the transaction by moving money between accounts.

Freedom Banks recommendations for protecting yourself from text scams:

• Verify the short code that the text message came from. Freedom Bank will only use code 37268. In fact, you can add this to your list of contacts to help you identify valid text messages.
• Freedom Bank’s messages only come after a questionable transaction has been denied. This alert is sent out after any questionable transaction, including small dollar amounts.
• A customer service representative will not call you when you reply ‘No”. A fake text message scammer will contact you acting as a customer service representative and will try to talk you through how to ‘reverse’ or ‘cancel’ a transaction. Please be assured if you receive a text message from Freedom Bank, no money has left your account and there is nothing to reverse or cancel.
• Be wary of any unsolicited contact. If you ever feel unsure or uncomfortable with someone on the phone, hang up and call the bank directly. A scammer will try to convince you not to do this. Remember, if you receive a text message from Freedom Bank, no money has left your account.
• Do not move funds between accounts in an attempt to prevent fraud, no legitimate financial institution will ever ask you to do this.
• Don’t trust any customer service representative or anyone who provides you with your personal information to verify their legitimacy.
• To further control your debit card, download the new FreedomBankMT mobile app. Using this app will also enable you to view real time account balances, deposit checks, transfer money between Freedom Banks accounts and even pay bills. Visit the new-mobile-app page form more information.

Card Management Is Included With The Freedom Bank MT Mobile App

The next generation digital solution integrates directly with the FreedomBankMT Mobile application to deliver connected digital-first payment experiences. The additional card management functions create convenience and transparency for every debit card transaction.

These features include but are not limited to:

• Understand spending clearly with quick, accessible insights.
  • Transactions will be more transparent with clear merchant names, logos, interactive maps to find merchant locations and contact information.
• Manage your card on the go with advanced control.
  • View Subscriptions, Recurring Payments, and Card-on-file information.
  • Add Travel Plans when you need them, including out-of-country.
  • Engage in real-time notifications with transaction alerts
  • Turn your card off if you misplace it. Please note, if you have lost your card contact Freedom Bank as soon as possible at (406)892-1776.

How To Access The Card Features

• Simply tap the ‘Cards’ icon within the Freedom Bank MT mobile app to register your debit card and see all the new features, enable alerts or manage your existing card controls. Take advantage of the convenient safety controls at your fingertips.

Avoid Sending Money to a Scammer

• Don’t click on links in an unexpected email, text message, or direct message that asks you to send money. Don’t give any personal or sensitive information like your username, PIN, or password.
• Confirm that you know the person you’re sending money to.
• When sending to someone you know, double-check their information before you hit send.

Protect Your Accounts

• Use multi-factor authentication. This means you need two or more credentials to get into your account: your password plus something else like an authentication code or fingerprint.
• Never share your credentials, like a verification code you get via text or authentication app.
• Set up alerts in the payment app to get transaction notifications outside of the app environment, such as via email or text.
• Regularly check your payment app and bank accounts to make sure no unauthorized payments have been sent from or accepted by your account.

Paid a Scammer Through a Payment App?

• Report it to the payment app or service and ask to reverse the transfer.
• Tell your financial institutions.
• Report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Learn more at https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/mobile-payment-apps-how-avoid-scam-when-you-use-one