I received a txt message today from 1010100133.  No idea who that is.  However, the subject of the text message was-

FRM:service@fmb.com
MSG:Farmers and Merchants
Notice. Unauthorized activity. Call now at 1-(877)240-6149

First off, I’m not a client of that bank. Secondly, when you call the number you are placed into an automated system with a recording that states there has been unauthorized use against your account and that you need to provide three forms of verification to stop the charges. The first piece of information is…wait for it…your 16 digit credit card number. Uh, no thanks. Not falling for it.

Pretty clever though. They got around the do not call list (which I am on) by sending a text message. Secondly, there is no human on the other end, just an automated system setup to collect credit card numbers from suckers. It definitely looked legit. If you get something similar, be aware that it is a fraud. If your bank was legitimately trying to contact you because of a question over unauthorized charges, you would be called by a person or at least given a number where you could call back and speak with someone. That person would never ask you for your credit card number either. Be careful out there.