Loan recipients of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) are being targeted by scammers nationwide, including here in New Hampshire. According to our Fraud Mitigation Team, scammers are pretending to be an employee of The Merrimack – requesting verification of your automatic clearing house (ACH) and/or online banking credentials. This information gives scammers access to online banking and the funds within the account.
At The Merrimack, we’re aware some of our customers have been targeted by this scam and shared the following red flags to lookout for:
- An email, text or call that appears to be from The Merrimack, claiming to be one of the business bankers or fraud specialists. They may even use a legitimate employee’s name.
- Inquiry about either a payment made to “Kim or Kimberly West or Wess” – or a bogus wire/payroll issue.
- Request for your online banking credentials and request the “secret code” in an attempt to reset your password.
- The tone of the call is either helpful or aggressive – sometimes starting as helpful then becoming increasingly demanding.
If scammers attempt to contact you: hang up, do not respond to messages or click on any links. If you have been targeted by the scam or are in the future, please call us directly at 603.225.2793 so we can assist with protecting your accounts and identity. Your report also assists our fraud team, law enforcement and protects other customers.