bankHometown In The News

bankHometown is proud to celebrate the success of its Funding Their Futures program, a community-driven initiative that supports local education while helping to strengthen the communities it serves. In 2025, the program raised more than $20,000, benefiting 16 local schools, school systems, and educational foundations. As part of The Giving Tree, bankHometown’s charitable giving initiative …

Scammers are targeting businesses nationwide that received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans using publicly available data to impersonate financial institutions and steal your data. They may contact you about an “issue” with a fake payment or transaction (ACH, wire transfer, or check) or “warn” you about suspicious account activity or fraud in your Online + …

Tax season is upon us, and so are identity theft schemes and other forms of fraud that threaten the tax and financial information of taxpayers, businesses, and tax professionals. The IRS’s annual list of “Dirty Dozen” tax scams highlights what to look out for: IRS impersonation by email and text (phishing and smishing). Look out …

Hometown Mortgage, a division of bankESB, recently announced that three homeownership assistance programs will soon be available to lower-income homebuyers across Massachusetts and neighboring states. Hometown Mortgage has been selected to participate in three grant programs funded by FHLBank Boston. The Equity Builder Program provides grants of up to $32,099 to income-eligible, first-time homebuyers to …

According to the FTC, romance scam reports have nearly tripled since 2015. Moreover, people reported losing more money to romance scams in the past two years than any other fraud reported to the FTC. What is a romance scam? Romance scams happen when someone creates a fake profile on dating sites, apps, or social media. …

bankHometown is proud to announce that through its charitable giving initiative, The Giving Tree, the bank donated more than $550,000 to local nonprofits and charitable organizations in 2025, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to strengthening the communities it serves. bankHometown has contributed more than $3.3 million over the past 10 years, supporting a wide range of …

bankHometown and its employees recently made donations of $17,500 to the United Way. Employees pledged nearly $11,000 of their own funds in the bank’s United Way workplace campaign. Combined with the bank’s additional corporate contribution, the campaign total of $17,500 has been donated to the United Ways of Central, North-Central, and South-Central Massachusetts. The campaign …

Identity Theft Awareness Week is January 26-30. Resolve to protect your identity this New Year by reporting suspicious activity to the bank or credit card agency immediately. Fraudsters often use emotional manipulation and urgency to get you to give up your personal information—which is intimidating! The FTC suggests creating an action plan you can follow …

Identity Theft Awareness Week is January 26-30. Resolve to protect your identity this New Year by limiting what you share online and avoid oversharing personal details. Did you know that nine out of 10 consumers have had their personal information exposed online? One of the most common ways that fraudsters can steal your information is …

Identity Theft Awareness Week is January 26-30. Resolve to protect your identity this New Year by checking your bank statements and credit report regularly to catch errors or unfamiliar unauthorized transactions. Protect yourself from fraud before it strikes. Set a goal to monitor your account statements or activity regularly so you can spot errors and …