Is That Email a Phishing Scam?

Phishing scams are plentiful right now, and they can sometimes be hard to spot. What is "phishing?" Scammers use email messages (and sometimes text messages) to trick you into giving them your personal information. What they are ultimately after are your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers, with the intent to gain access to your email, bank, or other accounts.

These emails often look like they come from a reputable sender, like Paypal, Amazon, or First Independent Bank. Phishing attacks like these are spoofing. In other words, they appear to come from a trusted sender. So, you have to be very careful before clicking on any link from even a trusted sender. Don’t blindly trust emails that appear to be legitimate, even if they appear to be from us, your bank.

Here are a few tips on how to spot these types of scams.

Pay attention to the grammar, spelling, and sentence structure of the email. Does it sound like broken English? Are there spelling or grammar errors? Reputable brands won’t make these kinds of mistakes.

Are you being asked to download an attachment or click a link to review a policy you’ve never heard of? If so, think twice and examine the email for additional clues about the legitimacy of the request.

Review the sender’s email address. It may say it’s from First Independent Bank, but does the actual sending email address come from a fibmn.com domain (for example, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.?) If the email domain is something that doesn’t make sense, like This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., it is most likely not a legitimate email but a phishing scam.

And remember...

First Independent Bank will never email you and ask you for your password or social security number! If you receive an email like this, please delete it immediately and report it to us.

When in doubt, it’s always best to pick up the phone and call us or the company or organization you are receiving the email from. Sometimes it’s very inconvenient, but it’s the only way to ensure you keep your personal information safe from scammers.