Shelly Crider sensed immediately that something wasn't right when a caller on her cell phone informed her that her Bank of Lancaster County credit card was suspended.

The first clue that the call was a "phishing" scam designed to collect her personal financial information, she said, was that "I don't have any kind of card from Bank of Lancaster County."

Crider, of Lancaster, said that, secondly, "Anyone calling from the bank would know how to pronounce 'Lancaster.'!\p "

Phishing activity aimed at customers of various banks in Lancaster County have been somewhat common in recent months. But it's possible that scammers are focusing on customers of Bank of Lancaster County as it prepares to convert to the PNC Bank name Aug. 8.

Fred Solomon, PNC spokesman, said it appears that the current phishing operation, reported by Crider and others on Friday, has been aimed at cell phone users.

When Chuck George of Ephrata got to his car Friday after leaving the Lancaster Barnstormers game, he found a message on his cell phone. It too was supposedly from a Bank of Lancaster County representative, who advised him to call an area code he didn't recognize to clear up a matter involving his credit card. "I had an account with them years ago, not anymore, so I knew it was bogus," George said.

Susan Stoler of Lititz said she received a similar call on her cell phone at 8:43 p.m. Friday. A woman claimed her Bank of Lancaster County credit card had been deactivated.

Crider, George and Stoler reported the incidents to Bank of Lancaster County.

Solomon said phishing is common in the banking industry and that he was unaware of a sudden focus on Bank of Lancaster County customers.

"I don't believe this is limited to PNC," he said. "Similar messages have been used with other banks' names."

Susquehanna Bank customers earlier this month reported that they received fraudulent e-mails designed to look as if they came from the bank, complete with the company's logo.

George said he received another bogus message Monday, this time in text form, on his cell phone from a caller in the 515 area code saying his Susquehanna Bank credit card had been locked. "I have an account with Susquehanna, but I knew the text was not a good deal — I never text," he said.

PNC Financial Services Group completed its purchase of Sterling Financial — the owner of Bank of Lancaster County — for $535 million in April. In preparation for the conversion, many Bank of Lancaster County customers have already received new PNC credit and debit cards that don't go into effect until 8 a.m. on Aug. 8.

"I could see how criminals might try to create some confusion to trick customers into giving up personal information," George said.

Solomon advised everyone to ignore inquiries about locked, stolen or suspended credit cards that appear to come from Bank of Lancaster County.

"Neither Bank of Lancaster County or PNC Bank will ever call a customer and ask for personal information," Solomon said.

Solomon said customers can see examples and learn more about phishing scams at the PNC Security Assurance Web site, www.pnc.com.

E-mail: pburns@lnpnews.com