Oct. 7--Area residents have been getting phone calls from what appears to be an official call from Orange Savings Bank; however, bank officials warn, the call is not from them.

An Orange woman, who wished to not be identified, said she was a victim of the scam and doesn't want anybody else to fall prey to the scam.

The woman said she had spent more money than normal on the day of the transaction and when the call came about 11 p.m. that night she was not suspicious but thought the bank was just doing its job.

"It sounded real professional," she said.

The woman said the automated phone call with a woman's voice informed her that her debit card being deactivated. In order to reactivate the card she would have to enter her account number, personal identification number and the expiration date of her card. After following the instructions the voice on the phone announced her card had been reactivated.

The next day she mentioned the transaction to her husband and he replied he had been getting the same phone calls for weeks, but had ignored them since he knew of the scam, she said.

"I had heard about the internet scam, but not this one," she said.

The woman checked her account and discovered two transactions from PL Cataluna19 in the amounts of $180.19 and $415.82.

The following day she went to Orange Savings Bank and while standing in line dicovered she was not alone in the scam. Some of the people in line reportedly told her they had lost much more.

"One man in line said he had worked a lot of overtime and had earned more than $1,700," she said. "But now it is all gone."

The woman said she was grateful the scammers only took what they did and left the remaining $400 in their account.

Bank officials told her to file a police and bank error reports, she said.

However, for now she said she just waits to see if she will get her money returned.

"I know this has been on the news and in the paper in the past, but I feel it is not enough," she said. "This is an unfortunate time for people to lose the money in their checking accounts."

Stephen Lee, OSB president, said the scams have been more prevalent during the last six months. He feels the internet scams have been curtailed for the moment. However, "it is very frustrating," he said.

Bank officials have contacted numerous law enforcement agencies in an effort to protect customers from the scam,

"We have left no stone unturned," Lee said.

The bank has been trying to get the message out to not respond to the scammers, but still there are so many victims who continue to fall prey.

Lee urges people who receive the phone calls to call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357 or the FDIC Fraud Department at 1-877-275-3342. He also suggests people contact the Texas Attorney General's Office at 1-800-621-0508.

"However, for most customers it is best to pursue recourse with law enforcement," Lee said.

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