Fraud Prevention
Credit Unions like FinancialEdge Credit Union continue to serve communities with secure financial services and keep the Members best interest in mind
Recent turmoil in the economy has impacted us all. Now more than ever, credit union members are wondering about their account insurance. You can rest assured; your funds are safe. Your accounts are insured up to $250,000.00 by the National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency. As your credit union, we take pride in providing our members with quality services and sound business practices. If you have any questions, please contact FinancialEdge Credit Union.
Fraudulent emails and scams
Understanding how to recognize internet scams is important to protect yourself from becoming a victim. Internet crime schemes steal millions of dollars each year from unsuspecting consumers. The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a great resource of information regarding Internet Crime. It has been established through a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C).
Read their page on Internet Crime Prevention Tips at http://www.ic3.gov/preventiontips.aspx. The best way to protect yourself from fraudsters is to be educated and aware of their tactics.
Scam - Cracking Cards
This scam targets high school and college students and their bank/credit union accounts. The crime is simple: the scammers put stolen or counterfeit checks in accounts belonging to other people. They “borrow” the cardholder’s debit card and PIN number to withdraw money from the account before the bank/credit union learns the checks are fake. They “promise” to put money into your account and then give you a cut. They actually will take off with the cash…including your money! The cardholders are recruited through ads placed on Facebook, YouTube and other social media networks, or by approaching you in person at a store or parking lot. The schemers give the account holders nothing and the account holders are the ones left dealing with the police and bank/credit union when the checks are revealed as fakes.
Advice to members:
When these checks are revealed as fraud, the account holder (member) is responsible for paying back the money - not the financial institution. These scammers try to talk members into the fact that the credit union won't care - they'll just write it up as a loss. This is NOT correct!
The rule of thumb is simple…never share debit cards or PIN numbers with anyone.
Who’s Calling? Identity Theft Schemes Makes It Hard To Tell
When your phone rings, you may automatically check your Caller ID to see who’s on the other end of the line. Clever identity thieves are using all kinds of tricks to get information from unwary consumers including “Spoofing”, “Phishing” and “Smishing”. So you need to think twice before assuming you know who you’re talking to. Criminals can now call you, email you or even text you pretending to be employees of financial institutions or legitimate companies. They may claim your account has been locked or frozen and ask you to return a call or message to “fix” your account. Other scams include trying to “notify you of winning the lottery” – usually in a foreign country. BEWARE: These are fraudulent attempts to gain personal information from you. If you are a victim of fraud, please contact the authorities immediately and notify the credit union.
To access the FTC’s online guidance regarding steps a consumer can take to protect against identity theft, follow the links below:
Procedures and information regarding recovering from identity theft can also be found at the following government website:
Important Reminder:
FinancialEdge Credit Union will NEVER contact you by phone, email or text message and request your personal information or account numbers. Do not give out this information unless you have initiated the contact and are certain to whom you are speaking with.
If you are a victim of identity theft, take the following four steps as soon as possible, and keep a record with the details of your conversations and copies of all correspondence.
1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.
Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening any more accounts in your name. Contact the toll-free fraud number of any of the three consumer reporting companies below to place a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to contact one of the three companies to place an alert. The company you call is required to contact the other two, which will place an alert on their versions of your report, too. If you do not receive a confirmation from a company, you should contact that company directly to place a fraud alert.
- TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
- Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
- Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
2. Contact any financial institutions or businesses with the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
Call and speak with someone in the security or fraud department of each company. Follow up in writing, and include copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents. It's important to notify credit card companies and banks in writing. Send your letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when. Keep a file of your correspondence and enclosures.
3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
You can file a complaint with the FTC using the online complaint form; or call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261; or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. Be sure to call the Hotline to update your complaint if you have any additional information or problems.
By sharing your identity theft complaint with the FTC, you will provide important information that can help law enforcement officials across the nation track down identity thieves and stop them. The FTC can refer victims' complaints to other government agencies and companies for further action, as well as investigate companies for violations of laws the agency enforces.
4. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.
Call your local police department and tell them that you want to file a report about your identity theft. If the police are reluctant to take your report, ask to file a "Miscellaneous Incident" report, or try another jurisdiction, like your state police. You also can check with your state Attorney General's office to find out if state law requires the police to take reports for identity theft. When you go to your local police department to file your report, bring a printed copy of your FTC ID Theft Complaint form, your cover letter, and your supporting documentation. The cover letter explains why a police report and an ID Theft Complaint are so important to victims.
For more detailed information on Identity Theft, visit the Federal Trade Commision.
Receiving email from phishers, pharmers, or others attempting to scam you into revealing personal information?
- "We suspect an unauthorized transaction on your account. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity."
- "During our regular verification of accounts, we couldn't verify your information. Please click here to update and verify your information."
Have you received email with a similar message? It's a scam called "phishing" — and it involves Internet fraudsters who send spam or pop-up messages to lure personal information (credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information) from unsuspecting victims.
Phishers send an email or pop-up message that claims to be from a business or organization that you may deal with — for example, an Internet service provider (ISP), credit union, online payment service, or even a government agency. The message may ask you to "update," "validate," or "confirm" your account information. Some phishing emails threaten a dire consequence if you don't respond. The messages direct you to a website that looks just like a legitimate organization's site. But it isn't. It's a bogus site whose sole purpose is to trick you into divulging your personal information so the operators can steal your identity and run up bills or commit crimes in your name.
Forward phishing emails to spam@uce.gov – and to the company, credit union, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. You also may report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing.
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