Fraud Alert: Spoofing of Fraud Department Calls to Members (March 25, 2024)
Members have reported receiving calls claiming to be from the Greater Texas fraud department. These are not calls from the fraud team but are examples of call spoofing.
Spoofing occurs when a fraudster knowingly falsifies the identifying info transmitted on the Caller ID to disguise the actual number from which they are calling in their scheme to commit fraudulent actions. So it shows up as a verified number or contact, but in fact is not.
Below are suggestions from your Greater Texas Fraud Team that you can take to avoid becoming a victim of spoofing fraud:
- Be wary of calls purporting to be from your financial institution (FI), law enforcement, or a state/federal agency asking for personal or financial details.
- If asked by phone, remember a genuine FI will never ask for your PIN, account login password, request you move or transfer money to another account, or to purchase products (e.g., gift cards, money orders).
- If asked by phone, remember a genuine FI will never ask you to withdraw money to hand over for safe keeping.
- If offered by phone, remember a genuine FI will never offer to send a courier to your home or request a meet-up to collect cash, merchandise, PIN, payment card or checkbook.
- The caller tries to convince you to not hang up and call your FI directly to confirm a fraud breach has occurred on your account. Oftentimes suggesting that there is an in-house breach.
Please remember, if you or a member ever feel something is suspicious about a call identified as being from the credit union, hang-up and contact our office using the advertised numbers on our websites: (800) 749-9732
Fraud Alert: Phone Call and Text/SMS Scams On the Rise
Your vigilance in avoiding banking scams and protecting your financial wellbeing is critical. Please be aware of the latest scams we are seeing an increase in:
• Spoofing: Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers often use neighbor spoofing so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number, or spoof a number from a company or a government agency that you may already know and trust. If you answer, they use scam scripts to try to steal your money or valuable personal information, which can be used in fraudulent activity.
• Phone call “Vishing”—or voice phishing Scam: Fraudsters contact people impersonating legitimate financial institutions or fraud departments. Typically, they will ask for account or card information, try to pry information from you or record your voice in an attempt to gain access to your account and take your money.
• SMS Text Message “Smishing” Scam: Fraudsters send SMS text messages claiming to be your financial institution, often providing a link to sign in to your account online via a bogus website. The fraudulent website captures your private information, like your online banking password or account number, and the fraudster will attempt to gain access to your accounts and deplete your funds.
For Your Protection
The credit union will never contact you to ask for:
- your online banking username or password
- account number
- social security number
- your debit or credit card numbers
If you think your account is compromised or you have fallen victim to one of the scams above, please contact us as soon as possible.
What We’re Doing to Protect You
In addition to our dedicated fraud monitoring team, your accounts are monitored 24/7 by state-of-the-art, secure artificial intelligence technology that picks up on unusual activity. When fraud is detected, we will contact you and take measures to urgently protect your account.
Again, our fraud team will not ask for your account number or online banking username and password.
What You Can Do to Protect Yourself
• Regularly monitor your account in online or mobile banking
• Set up account alerts so you know when money is being deposited, transferred, withdrawn
• Use multi-factor authentication to get a sign-in code and add an extra layer of security
• DO NOT share your personal banking information with anyone
• Set up account alerts so you know when money is being deposited, transferred, withdrawn
• Use multi-factor authentication to get a sign-in code and add an extra layer of security
• DO NOT share your personal banking information with anyone
