Don’t Get Scammed - Fraudsters Are Creative!
Gundersen Credit Union staff are trained to recognize the red flags of common types of fraud and can offer tips on preventing it. Here are some of the most common schemes seen at the credit union.
Recent Reported Scam
We received reports of a potential “spoofing” scam. It involves phone calls that appear to be from GCU with the purpose of tricking people into providing personal information.
GCU will NEVER call you asking for passwords, codes, or numbers.
If you receive a call claiming to be from GCU that asks you for any personal information (see examples below), hang up. If they call again, hang up and call us! Do not use the call-back feature on the phone because that may go back to the fraudster.
To avoid being a victim of fraud, HANG UP if you receive a call from anyone asking you for:
Social Security Numbers
Complete credit/debit card numbers
PIN numbers
CVV numbers and security codes
Online access codes and passwords
Digital Payment Fraud
Money transfer apps like CashApp, Zelle, Venmo, and Paypal make it fast, easy, and convenient to send money to a family member or pay a vendor. It also makes it fast, easy, and convenient for scammers to take your money.
Scammers can impersonate a business or a person by spoofing a phone number (making it appear as a specific phone number on caller ID) or mimicking an email address. They count on you seeing the phone number and name and not thinking twice about it. At a glance, can you tell the difference between gundersencu.org and gundersen.ơrg? (Hint: The “o” in the second empower is not an “o.”) If you are not expecting a call, text, or email asking for a payment, stop and reach out to the person or business making the request. Never call the number back or respond to the email – find contact information yourself from the real website or a document on hand.
Watch out for an “oops” payment. Did you receive money unexpectedly? A scammer will ask you to return it immediately, saying that the money was sent by mistake. Do not send it back. Even though money usually shows as being received immediately, it will be pending. That means it could still bounce for several reasons, such as non-sufficient funds (NSF). If you send the money back, you risk losing it. Tell the sender to contact the app provider to reverse the payment. If the sender appears to be someone you know, call them for more information about what happened. The sender should also contact the app provider if it’s a contractor or vendor.
Like anything with a password, it protects access to your money. Use a passcode, fingerprint, or Face ID to protect your phone, and log out of any apps that you don’t actively need. Make it more challenging for a fraudster to access your accounts.
Debit and Credit Card Fraud
It has happened to many of us: you open your mobile banking app and see charges you don’t recognize. How did a fraudster even get your card information, you wonder? You always shop at the same places!
• Card Skimmers: Fraudsters can hide a device at the register, gas pump, or ATM. Even a server who takes your card to pay the bill has an opportunity to clone your card. Avoid skimming devices by looking closely at the card reader and giving it a good tug before inserting your card. If it looks off, don’t use it! Stick to ATMs at credit unions and banks rather than the stand-alone machines you find in the corner of a gas station or restaurant. The more visible the machine, the less likely it has been tampered with.
• Stored Card Information: Avoid saving your card details to your profile at online retailers. All that stands behind a fraudster and your money is your password. If you must store your card information, pick a solid password, change it regularly, and use a different one at different retailers. Of course, 25+ years of internet history tells us nobody changes their passwords, much less uses multiple, so consider using a password manager. Many are available, like Bitwarden, 1Keeper, or NordPass, so there are options to meet your needs.
Romance and Trust Scams
Have you ever seen the stories on the news about the elderly person who has been conned into sending their entire life savings to a scammer and thought, that could never happen to me! These scammers make it their full-time job to gain your trust and are good at it. Sometimes the perpetrator lives in another country, but it could also be someone you know, like a handyman or an employee at a shop you frequent.
The criminals who carry out these scams work hard to seem trustworthy, caring, and believable. They will put in weeks, months, and even years to gain your trust because they know there is a payoff at the end.
Sophisticated online scammers will use fake profiles with stolen or altered pictures, voice-altering technology, and apps or software to change their appearance. Some will even make plans to meet in person.
Protect yourself by learning about the signs of a scam. Government sites such as the FBI, FTC, and CFPB have detailed information about how these scams work and what to do if you think you are a victim. Meanwhile, here are a few red flags to think about.
• Your gut says something seems off, but “I’ve known him for years. It will be fine…!”
• A play on your feelings, like, “My car broke down, and I can’t afford to fix it,” or “There was a big mix-up and my boss is going to make me pay for it.”
• Excuses for being unable to meet, such as the kids are sick, the boss is out of town, something came up, or the ticket is too expensive.
• You are sent a link to click on after you have agreed to a payment. It might be malware.
• A company or individual you are purchasing from requests an electronic payment using an app, especially if they insist on using a “pay a friend” option “so there are no business fees.”
Resources for Victims
To help prevent fraud on your accounts, we are requesting more verification over the phone now, and if members are in person, we may ask them to put a passcode/password on their account due to the higher volume of fraud.
To learn more about fraud and its impacts on your financial security, visit Fraud.org, the National Consumer League’s Fraud Information Center website.
Contact your bank or credit card company if you account has been compromised. Then visit IdentityTheft.gov to report the theft and find out the next steps.