PIERRE, S.D.(DRGNews)- Throughout the month of October, banks across the US participated in the #BanksNeverAskThat Anti-Phishing Campaign.

South Dakota Bankers Association President Karl Adam says it’s a coordinated, industry-wide effort to help customers avoid being taken advantage of by scammers.

Adam says scammers will try multiple ways to convince you to give them your money.

Adam says the #BanksNeverAskThat Anti-Phishing Campaign doesn’t mean your bank won’t reach out to you looking for information.

When you contact your bank, Adam says they will ask you for identifying information to ensure they are, indeed, speaking with you.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates consumers lost $5.8 billion to phishing and other fraud in 2021, an increase of more than 70% compared to 2020.

Here are a few tips to protect yourself from phishing attempts:

• Never change a password, issue a payment or perform other sensitive tasks based on an unsolicited request.
• Never give out personal information such as account numbers, usernames, one time access codes, passwords or Social Security numbers.
• Beware of messages or calls requesting any sort of urgent response. Do not respond to pressure to take any sort of immediate action.
• If you do receive a phone call, email or text message requesting sensitive information, hang up and call the party back to verify whether the request is legitimate. Use a phone number from a trusted source or directory rather than caller ID to verify you are calling a legitimate source.

For more information about phishing scams and how to stop fraudsters in their tracks, visit www.BanksNeverAskThat.com.