Central Bank has become the target of a cell phone text scam. The mid-Missouri community received a cell phone text that appeared to be from Central Bank, the message was the same as the emails sent out previous. The message read “Your central bank web service is expired, for renewal please login using www.centralbankservices.com ASAP. This message was intended to gather an individual’s debit card and checking account numbers to be used fraudulently. Central Bank was able to shut down the fraudulent site within hours of notification. REMEMBER: Only begin internet transactions when you log-in to our published site; www.centralbank.net. Any other variation or combination should be considered fraudulent.

In December, a large number of fraudulent emails were sent to residents in the Central Missouri area. These emails were designed to appear as if they were official notices from Central Bank. Theses illegal emails were attempts by foreign criminals to obtain personal information from our local residents including their debit and credit card numbers, personal identification and social security numbers. These emails were not generated by Central Bank, any of its affiliates or subsidiaries.

Read more about Phishing Scams and online security

Attorney General Jay Nixon is warning Missourians about a recent wave of attempts to steal bank account information. Nixon has released audio and video public service announcements to get the word out about these scams, which have been reported primarily by consumers in southwest and central Missouri.

You can listen or watch these new PSA’s by visiting the Attorney General’s website at http://ago.mo.gov/newsreleases/2008/011808.htm

Dan Westhues, Central Bank's Senior Vice President for Retail Banking, answers some of the most frequently asked questions about online banking. How do I protect myself online? Is Internet banking really safe? What do the bad guys do with my information if they get it? What is Central Bank doing to protect my information? What can I do to protect myself? What are "phishing" and "vishing" scams?

What is Phishing & Vishing? MP3 File Length: 4min 29 seconds 1.8 mb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

What happened in December 2007? MP3 File Length: 3min 54 seconds 1.6 mb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

Who Are these criminals? MP3 File Length: 1min 34 seconds 646 kb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

How did the criminals get my phone number or my e-mail address? MP3 File Length: 2min 20 seconds 960 kb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

Why Central Bank? MP3 File Length: 1min 47 seconds 972 kb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

Is internet banking safe? MP3 File Length: 2min 21 seconds 960 kb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

Full Interview MP3 file, Length: 30 minutes 13.3mb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

Central Bank is currently airing a public awareness commercial on local radio stations announcing current scams.

MP3 file, Length: 60 seconds 915kb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

This is one of the actual phone scam recordings which ran throughout Mid-Missouri this past week. WARNING! Do not respond to these recordings.

MP3 file Length: 15 seconds 115 kb (Firefox users “right-click” and select “save link as”)

These emails were reported to us from both local residents and other consumers around the country.  Phishing emails are sent in “email blasts” to a very large population in hopes of reaching a customer of the financial institution they are imitating.

Example E-mail 1 (.pdf file requires Adobe Acrobat)

Example E-mail 2 (.pdf file requires Adobe Acrobat)