Bank of the Sierra Joins ABA for #BanksNeverAskThat Campaign
October 15, 2025
America’s banks join forces in coordinated, industry-wide campaign to protect consumers during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
PORTERVILLE, CALIF. – Bank of the Sierra has joined the American Bankers Association and banks across the nation to promote an industry-wide campaign educating consumers about the persistent and growing threat of scams. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that consumers lost $12.5 billion to scams in 2024, an increase of 25 percent compared to 2023. To combat these scams, the award-winning #BanksNeverAskThat campaign uses attention-grabbing humor and other engaging content to empower consumers to identify bogus bank communications asking for sensitive information like their passwords and social security numbers.
“With the increasing speed of technological advances, including artificial intelligence, fraud attempts are becoming more persistent and increasingly harder to distinguish from legitimate communications,” said Natalia Coen, Chief Risk Officer of Bank of the Sierra. “ABA’s #BanksNeverAskThat campaign is a valuable tool in our ongoing efforts to educate customers so they don’t fall victim to these scams.”
“As scams become increasingly sophisticated, it’s critical that individuals understand how to recognize and avoid deceptive tactics,” said Paul Benda, Senior Vice President, Operational Risk and Cybersecurity at ABA. “The #BanksNeverAskThat campaign is designed to do just that – empowering consumers with knowledge in a way that’s engaging and memorable. By joining the campaign, Bank of the Sierra and financial institutions throughout the country are helping their customers stay one step ahead of scammers.”
Bank of the Sierra, along with banks from across the U.S., will join forces with ABA to kick off this year’s updated campaign in October for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Throughout the month, Bank of the Sierra will share eye-catching and engaging consumer tips on social media to highlight common scams. Because cybersecurity education and fraud awareness can often be dull and forgettable to many consumers, the #BanksNeverAskThat campaign is designed to be bright and bold with a bit of comedy.
This year’s campaign theme, “Snap Out of It!,” highlights that scammers often lure consumers into a false sense of trust and security – almost a spellbound state – while demanding urgent action. The campaign’s short videos show various scams in progress, but before the consumer can be defrauded, a bank employee calls attention to the red flags and encourages the victim to “snap out of it!” The trance is broken, and the scammers are stopped in their tracks.
In addition to videos, consumers can find an interactive quiz, the educational “Scam City” video game, and tips on how to spot a scam at BanksNeverAskThat.com. There is also a Spanish language version of the website, BancosNuncaPidenEso.com, which provides a host of #BanksNeverAskThat resources in Spanish.
For more information about scams and how to stop fraudsters in their tracks, visit BanksNeverAskThat.com.
About Bank of the Sierra
Bank of the Sierra is in its 45th year of operations and is the largest independent bank headquartered in the South San Joaquin Valley. Bank of the Sierra is a community-centric regional bank, which offers a full range of retail and commercial banking services with full-service branches located within the counties of Tulare, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. The bank also maintains two loan production offices and an online branch and provides specialized lending services through an agricultural credit center. Bank of the Sierra is recognized as one of the strongest community banks in the country with a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial.
