Civista Bank Joins Industry-Wide Anti-Phishing Campaign

America’s banks join forces in coordinated, industry-wide campaign to protect consumers during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

(Sandusky, Oh.) - Today Civista Bank joined the American Bankers Association (ABA) and banks across the nation in launching a first-of-its- kind, industry-wide campaign to educate consumers about the persistent threat of phishing scams. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that consumers lost $1.48 billion to phishing schemes in 2018 and the ongoing pandemic has only increased the threat. To combat phishing, the #BanksNeverAskThat campaign uses attention grabbing humor and other engaging content to empower consumers to identify bogus bank communications asking for sensitive information like their passwords and social security numbers.

“This campaign is an unprecedented effort by the banking industry to address a growing threat to our customers,” said Rob Nichols, ABA president and CEO. “Thanks to participating banks like Civista Bank, we’re turning the tables on the bad guys by giving consumers the tools they need to spot illegitimate bank communications.”

Civista Bank, along with participating banks across the country and ABA, are simultaneously launching the campaign on October 1 to mark the beginning of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Throughout the month Civista Bank will share eye-catching and engaging short videos, animated GIFs and consumer tips on social media and in bank branches designed to highlight common phishing schemes. Because cybersecurity education and fraud awareness can often be dull and forgettable to many consumers, the campaign is designed to be bright and bold with a bit of comedy.

“Do you prefer boxers or briefs? Do you believe in aliens?!,” one of the campaign’s animated GIFs asks social media users. “Banks would never ask you these questions. Here’s another question a real bank would never ask: We’ve spotted some unusual activity on your account, can you please verify your username and password?”

The campaign’s short videos offer similarly ridiculous questions that banks would never ask and direct consumers to BanksNeverAskThat.com for more information. At that website, consumers will find the #BanksNeverAskThat quiz, videos, phishing red flags, tips, FAQs, and an opportunity to win weekly prizes through the ABA’s Banks Never Ask That Sweepstakes.

“We are pleased to participate in this anti-phishing campaign. At Civista, we are dedicated to protecting our customers’ personal and financial information,” said Dennis Shaffer, Civista Bank CEO and President. “The #BanksNeverAskThat campaign is educational, memorable, and most importantly gives Civista another opportunity to empower customers with the knowledge they need to protect their data from cyber criminals.”

For more information about phishing scams and how to stop fraudsters in their tracks, visit https://www.civista.bank/resource-center/what-you-can-do and www.BanksNeverAskThat.com.