Deceptive Mailers Target Customers of Santa Maria Bank

The Department of Business Oversight (DBO) has been notified of a deceptive mailer being sent to customers of Community Bank of Santa Maria, a DBO licensee.  These mailers come from an entity that calls itself Community Bank & Trust of Santa Maria, California, making it difficult to distinguish between the DBO-licensed bank and the source of the mailer.  The fax number on the mailer is from Reno, Nevada.  The DBO could find no record of Community Bank & Trust in Santa Maria or Reno. There is no entity by that name licensed by the DBO.

The DBO urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation promoting loans or other offers. To check whether a financial service provider is licensed in California, or to file a complaint, consumers should go to the DBO website at www.dbo.ca.gov or call 1-866-275-2677.