How to be a healthy skeptic + 5 local money scams
How to be a healthy skeptic + 5 local money scams
As a credit union, we sadly see members impacted by financial scams every day. Scams take your hard-earned money, stop your services, cause losses and stress! The best thing you can do, on an individual level, is to teach yourself how to spot a scam.
Step one: Have a healthy level of skepticism. Question every incoming message no matter how it arrives (email, web, text, voicemail, phone call, social media, etc.) and look for signs of a scam.
Step two: Learn scam traits. Many scams do the following...
The message or alert arrives unexpectedly
They ask you to do something the sender does not typically request
They have a sense of urgency, claiming you may lose access or will be penalized if you do not take action immediately
Step three: Review local examples of scams that have impacted our members.
A fake service provider asked a member to pay with gift cards. Legitimate businesses do not do this! If you pay with gift cards, your money is gone and there is no way to get it back.
There was an unexpected call from "AMAZON support" asking for payment information over the phone. Amazon does not make such calls.
A call from "Apple support" asked for personal information and login credentials. Apple does not initiate calls like this.
A series of PayPal verification emails (unexpected and not initiated from the member) asking the member to click a link. These emails were fake, linking to a fraudulent website hoping the member would enter their PayPal login info.
A series of package tracking links sent via text. The link may take you to a website that will ask you for personal information under the guise of confirming your address, but the real purpose is to get credit card numbers and other personal information.
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At HCP Credit Union, we have services you can put into action to further protect your accounts:
Remote Control: Turn your debit and credit card on and off. Online Banking and our Mobile Banking app come with a handy security feature built right in. With one tap, you can remotely deactivate and activate your debit or credit card if you've misplaced it or just for added security. On the main menu, look for "Remote Control."
HCP Fraud Prevention Program: Learn about what we do when fraud is suspected on your account and how you can help. https://www.hcpfcu.org/blog/protecting-your-hcpfcu-debit-card
HCP Blog: We regularly post fraud alerts to keep you up to date https://www.hcpfcu.org/blog