Peoples Bank of Alabama Issues Urgent Alert Over Fraudulent Phone Calls

CENTRE — Peoples Bank of Alabama is warning customers to be on high alert after a recent spike in fraudulent phone calls targeting commercial banking clients.

According to the bank, the scam involves fraudsters impersonating bank employees and using sophisticated tactics to trick businesses and individuals into sharing sensitive financial information. Many of these callers are leveraging publicly accessible data from the U.S. Small Business Administration, including information from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, to make their attempts appear more convincing.

The fraudulent calls often appear to come from legitimate numbers, with caller ID showing the bank’s name and a local area code. During the calls, scammers may:

• Claim to be bank representatives.

• Reference a false transaction or say an account has been compromised.

• Attempt to create a sense of urgency to pressure victims.

• Request online banking credentials, one-time passcodes, or account numbers.

Peoples Bank emphasized that it will never call customers to ask for passwords, PINs, or one-time passcodes. Customers who receive suspicious calls are urged to hang up immediately and call the bank back using a trusted phone number.

The bank also offered the following tips to help protect businesses and individuals from falling victim:

• Verify unexpected communication by reaching out directly to your loan officer or the bank’s customer service team.

• Educate staff members, especially those handling financial operations, about these types of scams.

• Report any suspicious activity to the bank right away.

For more information or to report a suspicious call, customers are encouraged to contact Peoples Bank of Alabama through official, verified channels.