Don’t let scammers spook you!

As criminals introduce new and creative ways to commit fraud, our main priority is protecting you and your finances. Here is a story from an unsuspecting victim of fraud, and some tips on how to avoid a similar situation.

It all started with an urgent text message.

Olivia received a text message that appeared to come from her credit union asking her to confirm a $116.85 payment to Target. Olivia replied “NO.” Soon after, someone called her claiming they were from the credit union’s “fraud department.”

“The man on the phone told me there was fraud occurring on my bank account and that I had to give him my account information immediately, so I don’t lose my money,” Olivia said.

Panicked, she gave her account information to the man. But he was a scammer, and within minutes he transferred $3,000 out of her checking account.

Red flags to watch for:

• The person contacting Olivia was pushy and aggressive.
• The scammer insisted there was no other way to fix the problem besides following his instructions.
• Olivia was contacted unexpectedly for her bank account information.

How to prevent this type of scam:

• If you receive a phone call or text message requesting account information from “Educators Credit Union,” HANG UP or DELETE the message and call us directly at 262.886.5900.
• Never act immediately. Any legitimate business will never pressure you.
• Keep your account numbers, PINs, passwords and other personal information private.

More tips to protect your financial and personal information from fraud:

• Don’t click on links provided in text messages or emails from people you don’t recognize.
• Regularly monitor your financial accounts for unfamiliar charges or withdrawals.
• Add security questions or a password to your Educators Credit Union account to prevent people from accessing your account without permission. To add security questions or a password, you can stop into a branch, use Educators Connect Cam™, or give us a call.

For more tips, visit www.ecu.com/files/FraudBooklet.pdf to read our Fraud Prevention Guide.