SOUTH BEND — 1st Source Bank would like to make the public aware of a telephone scam where automated calls are being made to clients and non-clients telling them their 1st Source MasterCard has been deactivated.

Those receiving calls are then instructed to enter their full card number and PIN to reactivate their card. These calls are not being made by 1st Source Bank, which has community banking centers in Niles and Dowagiac, and instead are phishing attempts to acquire card information.

No client information was taken from 1st Source.

A robotic calling system is being used to randomly select telephone numbers to call.

Calls were initially placed to numbers with a 574 area code and now include numbers with a 219 and 260 area code.

Typically, fraudsters blanket an area with calls, hoping even 1 percent of those called would give requested information.

These scams have hit the largest banks in the past. Now fraudsters have moved to regional and community bank clients hoping to trick unsuspecting people into giving up card information.

1st Source is working with authorities in an attempt to isolate the scam. Banks report incidents of this nature to the U.S. Treasury, which then works with the regional branch of the FBI to investigate.

If a person receives a call such as this, hang up and provide no information to the caller.

If someone has been tricked into releasing information, they should contact their bank immediately.

1st Source clients should stop in or talk to their neighborhood banking center, or call the client service center at (800) 513-2360 (after hours call (800) 554-8969). The card will be canceled and a new one issued.

Clients should also review their account history to insure no fraudulent transactions have taken place.

1st Source emphasizes to clients it will never call or send an email asking for their account number, password or PIN.