Country Bank recently recognized nine local WooStars and the nonprofits they are affiliated with at Polar Park. They include Katie Roy, Big Brothers Big Sisters; Nicole Broushet, Glo Mom; Pamela Daly, Girls Inc.; Jessika Zequeira, Shine Initiative; Johanna Annunziata, Give Gratitude; Moses Dixon, the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging; John Rodriguez, Worcester Latino Dollars for Scholars; Geoff Naunheim, United Way of Franklin and Hampshire County; and Denise Blodgett, Jubilee Cupboard. Each nonprofit was presented with a $5,000 check from Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank.

“One of the most important goals of our partnership with the Worcester Red Sox is to continue to find ways for us to collectively give back to our communities in an impactful and meaningful way,” said Shelley Regin, the bank’s senior vice president of Marketing and Public Relations. “Country Bank is deeply rooted in supporting its communities and a value that we have lived by for 172 years. We are delighted the Worcester Red Sox is equally committed to supporting its communities. This campaign rewards those truly making a difference out there.”

Charles Steinberg, president of the Worcester Red Sox and the WooSox Foundation, added that “we are delighted to have Country Bank as our partner in these community endeavors. From our WooStars to our inaugural Police vs. Fire Baseball Classic to our wonderful MVT program to support our teachers, Country Bank and the WooSox share a passion for using our organizations to make Worcester and Central Massachusetts even better places in which to live. We thank our friends at Country Bank, and we salute once again our 2022 WooStars.”

To read the full article, please visit: https://businesswest.com/blog/country-bank-worcester-red-sox-announce-2022-woostars/

Country Bank recently supported the Ride to Remember, a 50-mile bicycle ride in tribute to fallen police officers and firefighters, with a $10,000 donation. This year’s ride, “The Tour of Western Massachusetts,” celebrated its 10^th anniversary, honoring those who have died in the line of duty.

“Country Bank’s support of this meaningful event is a great way for us to show our gratitude and support for all the frontline workers. We deeply appreciate the work they do throughout our communities, and we know that it truly makes a difference to the people and businesses they serve,” stated Paul Scully, President and CEO at Country Bank.

Safeguard yourself against fraudulent access to your Mobile Phone. One of the recent techniques involves a fraudster taking unauthorized access of a victim’s mobile device to carry out fraudulent transactions via UPI using the AnyDesk App.

This is how they do it with AnyDesk app:

• You may receive a phone call from a fraudster, who will claim to be a representative from a tech company / bank offering to fix issues in your smartphone or mobile banking apps
• The fraudster will then lure you to download a mobile app like ‘AnyDesk’ from Play store or App Store, which can provide him with remote access to your mobile.
• Post the installation of the app (in this case ‘AnyDesk‘), a 9-digit code will be generated, which the fraudster will ask you to share.
• Then the fraudster will further ask you to grant him certain permissions. Once granted, fraudster is now in control of your mobile device.
• Further, Mobile Banking credentials and PIN are stolen from you and the fraudster can now choose to carry out financial transactions from your mobile app which was already installed.

They could also:

• The fraudster subsequently seeks confidential account related credentials like Debit Card number, PIN, expiry date, OTP and sets the MPIN which is then used to authenticate transactions.
• Send “Collect request” to your VPA and ask you to approve / authenticate it on the respective UPI apps to get reversal / refunds.
• Assuming that you will get credit / refund in your account (Amazon), you approve the request by authenticating the transaction with MPIN which is only known to you but you might end up losing money since your account gets debited once the collect request is approved / authenticated.

Please be alert and follow the Dos & Don’ts listed below.

Dos

• Be alert to fraudulent calls that ask you to download apps or share confidential information (disconnect such calls immediately)
• In case you have already downloaded “AnyDesk” app and it is no longer required, uninstall it IMMEDIATELY
• Please enable app-lock on your payment or mobile banking related apps.
• Report any suspicious activity at your nearest Bank Branch / genuine customer care number only

Don’ts

• Do not share your banking passwords or store them in your mobile handset.
• Do not share your other sensitive financial details on call such as UPI PIN / MPIN, Debit / Credit Card, CVV, expiry date, OTP, ATM PIN, bank account details, etc.
• Don’t allow a stranger to guide you to install a mobile app through App Store / Play store, or instruct you to change a setting of your mobile.
• Do not rely on customer service numbers of various merchants / entities / banks etc. retrieved via Google search, since they can be fake.
• Do not forward any unsolicited SMS received on a request of so called representative from a tech company / bank