Wyandot Co. Sheriff warns of scam

3/16/2012

UPPER SANDUSKY, Ohio — Residents should ignore text messages saying that their credit, debit, or automatic teller machine cards have been deactivated — and refrain from giving out personal information — Wyandot County Sheriff Michael Hetzel said Thursday night in a statement.

Authorities said that cell numbers in the 419 area code that start with 310 were targeted.

Those numbers received a text that their First Citizens National Bank card had been deactivated and gave a number to contact.

But First Citizens’ officials told authorities that the text was a scam.

Sheriff’s deputies and Upper Sandusky police learned about the scam when they started receiving calls about it on Thursday.

Sheriff Hetzel said those who got the text should not respond, but in general, no one should give out personal information unless the recipient is verified.

He said that those who responded to the text should contact their bank or the issuer of their credit, debit, or ATM card.