Sovereign Bank Notifies the Public of Fraudulent Scheme Affecting Both Customers and Non Customers

BOSTON, April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovereign Bank is investigating reports that some customers as well as non customers are the victims of a scheme where individuals have randomly received fraudulent automated telephone calls from unauthorized persons claiming that they are calling from Sovereign and asking for financial information related to their debit cards.  The computer generated messages ask for the individual to enter personal financial data over the phone.  Sovereign is alerting consumers that this is a fraudulent scheme and that no information should be provided.  

Sovereign recommends that consumers follow these security measures:

• Be very cautious of automated messages from an unknown source requesting information on any Debit/ATM card 
• Do not trust any message stating that your card was "deactivated," "on hold," "lost/stolen" and asking you to "press 1" and enter your card number to activate it

There are additional security measures that consumers can undertake to protect their personal financial information from such scams.  That information can be accessed on Sovereign Bank's website at http://www.sovereignbank.com/personal/security-center/online-security-center.asp.

Sovereign Bank recommends that customers verify the legitimacy of a call by contacting the bank toll free at 1-877-SOV-BANK or with the local branch number provided when they opened their account.

About our Company

Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N) is a retail and commercial bank, headquartered in Spain, with a presence in ten main markets: Spain, Portugal, Germany, the UK, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the U.S. Founded in 1857, Santander has 92 million customers, approximately 14,000 branches - more than any other international bank - and over 170,000 employees. For more information on Santander, visit http://www.santander.com.

Sovereign Bank, a subsidiary of Banco Santander, S.A., is a financial institution with principal markets in the northeastern United States. Sovereign has more than 700 branches, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 8,000 team members.  For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit http://www.sovereignbank.com or call 877-SOV-BANK.

SOURCE Sovereign Bank