Introducing: SCOFF
01/08/2025
Introducing: SCOFF
By now, you might have seen a couple of posts on our social media about an exciting new group called SCOFF (The South-Central Ohio Fraud Forum)! This week we wanted to dive a little deeper into what SCOFF is and how it can help you.
According to studies by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “Ohio ranked 26th nationally for fraud-related reports in 2023” (Ohio.gov). Ohioans reported over 34,000 fraud attempts and over $154 million in lost funds in 2023. While Ohio remains 26th in overall fraud reports, the uptick in fraud in our communities is concerning. Therefore, several of your local banks based in South Central Ohio have banded together to help broker solutions so that our communities can better combat fraud.
In SCOFF, representatives from local financial institutions, law enforcement, and the Secretary of State’s office have been able to get together to talk about scams we are seeing locally and brainstorm how to better serve our communities. In addition to The Savings Bank, Kingston National Bank, VCNB, Atomic Credit Union, and Homeland Credit Union have joined forces against fraud.
Our main goal is to provide educational opportunities on fraud and fraud prevention. Together, we will be hosting several events in Pickaway County, Fairfield County, Ross County, and other local areas. Our first event will be held Thursday, January 16th from 11:30-1PM at the Christopher Conference Center in Chillicothe. There will be a free community lunch, and it will feature speakers from the Ross County Sheriff’s Office and Jeremiah Johnson, CISSP of Fortinet. Our first topic will be cyber fraud and impersonation scams. Later in the year, we will also be holding fun trivia nights, coffee chats, and many other things. Keep an eye out on our social media for updates!
At The Savings Bank, we will also remain committed to keeping our customers and community members informed about the latest scams and fraud attempts. Our SmartBanking Talk blog will always be a place where you can find a variety of posts on the timeliest topics related to scams and fraud, and our social media platforms will continue to publish posts with helpful tips and information.
SCOFF is an incredible opportunity for local agencies and financial institutions to work together to better serve you. We hope through our community education events and working together to share information, we can help decrease fraud in our communities. We hope to see you at some of our events in 2025!
Sources:
https://com.ohio.gov/about-us/media-center/news/exposing-most-common-financial-scams-in-ohio