LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — In light of International Fraud Awareness Week, the Michigan Dept. of Insurance and Financial Service is reminding you to look out for fraudsters who impersonate bank or credit union employees over the phone.

“DIFS has received reports of fraud cases involving consumers giving their online account login information to callers pretending to be bank and credit union employees,” said DIFS Director Anita Fox. “It is important to remember to never give out personal information to unsolicited callers, even if the caller ID makes it appear that the call is from your bank or credit union.”

DIFS gives the following advice:

  • Never give personal or account information to anyone calling you, even if the caller says it is for “verification purposes.” You should only provide information to organizations or companies you have called or initiated contact
  • If the person contacting you says there’s a problem that must be resolved, hang up and call the phone number you know will reach someone verified. Do not call phone numbers providing in text messages or voicemails, and never reply to an unsolicited text message.
  • Use multifactor authentication, in addition to a password, to log into accounts.

You can report suspect fraud in the insurance and financial sectors to the DIFS Fraud Investigation Unit by calling 877-999-6442, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., or on its website.