Phone Scam Forces Bank To Shut Down ATM Network

FRANKLIN, Ind. -- ATM services at an Indiana bank had to be shut down after police received reports of a phone scam targeting Johnson County residents and businesses.

The automated calls were made in the middle of the night over the weekend and warned that the person's Mutual Savings Bank ATM card had been misused, 6News' Ben Morriston reported.

Callers were then supposedly transferred to the bank's security department, where they were asked to provide personal financial information.

A Franklin police detective was among those who received the call. He said he knew it was a scam right away.

"One would think the intent was to commit fraud and probably take money out of people's accounts and make purchases against their account," said Lt. Chris Tennell.

Mutual Savings shut down its ATM network over the weekend to ensure it was secure, said bank President Bob Heuchan. Extra employees were also called in to answer questions from concerned customers.

"The integrity of our files remain sound. [They were] not breached in any way," Heuchan said.

Police said the calls came from Las Vegas, San Diego and Montreal, Canada, but couldn't be readily traced.

One customer gave her husband's ATM number and personal identification number to the caller. The next day, $200 was withdrawn from the account somewhere in California, police said.

Bank officials said customers would never be contacted over the phone or via e-mail and asked to give personal information.