An Open Letter From Our CEO About Fraud
By: Mike Daniels, CEO of Nicolet Bank
Dear Customers,
I am writing to you about a topic most of us don't want to talk about – fraud. I can tell you that it has become more pervasive recently, and no one is immune to it. Fraud is on the rise for two primary reasons. First, let's be real: the fraudsters are good at what they do. Second, new technologies make it easier to impersonate a legitimate person or entity. In short, defrauding people and companies is working. My purpose in writing this letter is to ask for your help in combating fraud. It will take all of us working together to make a positive impact.
While education on various scams is important, it would be hard to explain and understand them all. However, there is one thing we ask you to do in any scenario where something just doesn't feel right – pause. Simply pause and slow things down so you can think. Most scams add pressure as a purposeful technique, either by rushing you to a decision or by making the situation personal. Most of us know that we don't make good decisions when we are under pressure, which is why fraudsters use it so often. The fraudsters want you to react when what you really need to do is respond calmly. When you pause, it allows you to remove some of the pressure and slow things down so you can think more clearly.
If something doesn't sound right or feel right, pause. Slow down your thinking and remove some of the pressure. After you pause, remember the following:
- Nicolet would never rush you into a decision
- We would never ask for login information, PINs, or passwords
- We would not be offended if you hung up and called us back at our legitimate, publicly available phone number.
- We would not ask you to deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM
- We would not text you a link so you could log in
When in doubt, please remember to pause, end communications, and call your banker or our general number at 800-369-0226.
Thank you.
Mike Daniels
Chairman, President, and CEO
Nicolet National Bank
