Fraud Alerts
It's International Fraud Awareness Week, November 17-23, 2024.
As we approach the busiest shopping season of the year with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we are urging our members to be stay aware of current scams. Anyone, at anytime can be the target of financial fraud and scams. Your best defense is to stay informed, alert, and secure.
- Do not click on a link or attachment from unsolicited emails or text messages.
- Never use phone numbers or links in a text message as they could be malicious.
- Never share your personal information, debit card number, account details or security details such as your PIN or online password to anyone!
Security Is Our Top Priority
Knowledge is power and one of the best resources against fraud, and knowing what we may ask you —and what we would never ask you—is key to keeping your money safe.
Scammers are constantly finding new ways to steal money. Common ways include impersonating your financial institution through phone calls, texts, and emails. Their goal is to trick members into moving their money or giving out their personal or account information. They are relentless, demanding, and sometimes even threatening.
If you receive a text, email, or call from us and are unsure if it is real, do NOT click any links or do anything! Call us directly at 563-264-7210 to confirm it was indeed from us.
Reasons MCCU may contact you:
- You contacted us or submitted a loan app
- Negative account or past due loan
- Info about events, promotions, important notices, and other news about the credit union
When in doubt, DON'T give it out! We would NEVER ask you for:
- Debit card number
- CVC Code
- Passcode to digital wallets
- Online banking credentials
- Validation codes received by email or text
In an ongoing effort to keep our members safe, below are some current scams. If you believe you’ve encountered any of these situations, please DO NOT provide any personal information, hang up and contact us immediately.
Be on the lookout for the following:
- Spoofing Phone Numbers: If you receive a call or text from someone claiming to be from Members Community Credit Union’s fraud or card department, and you weren’t expecting the call or text, ignore it and call us directly to confirm it was legitimate. Even if your caller ID says the call is coming from Members Community Credit Union, it could be a scam.
- Convert cash to Bitcoin (cryptocurrency) or gift cards for payment: These payment methods are not traceable and can't be returned in the event of a scam. If you are paying for a large purchase, do so with an official check or credit card.
- Phishing Emails: Emails that claim to be from a specific company and asks you to download items or provide secure information. Government agencies are not sending unsolicited emails seeking private information to send you money. Phishing emails may also claim to help locate a missing Amazon order you didn't place, or lock you out of your streaming account.
- Secure Access Codes: If someone calls and asks for a passcode, online banking credentials, hang up and contact us directly.
- Suspicious Shopping Websites: Be aware of online deals that seem too good to be true.
- Password Theft: Identity theft is at an all-time high. Create strong passwords using a combination of letters, numbers and symbols. NEVER share your password with anyone.
- Unsolicited calls and texts from law enforcement or credit bureaus: The purpose of these communications is to get personal information, including Social Security numbers, account numbers, passwords, PINs, any any other information that could be used to compromise your identity. Do not respond to these text messages, phone calls or emails.
National Consumer Protection
Scam FAQs
The top scams in Iowa in 2023 were imposter, online shopping and identity theft. Common scam descriptions are on the next page. The top scams nationwide were imposter, online shopping, business/job opportunities and prizes/sweepstakes/lotteries. Americans lost $10 billion to scams in 2023, the highest amount ever reported to the Federal Trade Commission. Trust your gut and if it's too good to be true, it is!
Fraud comes in many forms, but generally speaking, if someone you are interacting with is pressuring you and / or avoiding your questions, that is typically a red flag, especially if it is in response to an unsolicited call, email or text. If they ask you to click a link to access your account or input personal information is another red flag. We would never ask you for your PIN number, validation code or other banking credentials. Never share this information with anyone.
Another indication it's a scam is if it contains any misspellings or demanding urgency.
If you receive a suspicious looking email, text or call, do NOT engage. When in doubt, contact us directly. We may ask questions to verify your identity, as this is another layer in the process of keeping you safe.
If you responded to a text, clicked on a link or provided sensitive information, contact us immediately (563-264-7210). We will ask you a variety of questions so we can get a better understanding what steps you will need to take. These may include changing your online banking credentials, shutting down your current debit card and ordering a new one and if necessary, we may suggest you file a police report. You will also want to contact other individuals or companies involved.
Keep things up-to-date, such as your security/anti-virus software, browser, and operating system. Consider using your browser’s popup blocker, and in general, distrust popup messages on websites, especially if they claim to have found a security risk and never call a number it gives you. Instead, search the number on google to ensure you end up where you are intended and not at the mercy of a scammer.