“Spoofing” Attacks On The Rise

What Is Spoofing?

“Spoofing” is the term for when a scammer fakes their caller ID to make a call look like it is coming from a trusted source, like your credit union. They’ll tell you there have been fake charges on your account. Then they ask for personal information to “stop the charges”, such as:

• Your online banking user name
• Your full debit card number
• Your debit card PIN.

They may also ask you to send money to someone else to fix a dispute.

Your Credit Union (or Bank) Will Not Ask for Sensitive Information

Call Federal will never call and ask you to provide information like your full debit card number or PIN. We will also never ask you to send funds to a third party as part of a dispute resolution process.

How Can I Protect Myself From These Attacks?

If you get a suspicious call, just hang up. Then call your credit union or bank’s real customer service number from their website.

There’s also a whole section in our Money & Beyond portal dealing with Consumer Protection. Our favorite is the one titled “5 Steps for Avoiding Phone, Email, and Mailed Scams”. Members can sign up for a FREE Money & Beyond account and take a short course on protecting themselves from identity theft and other scams that we highly recommend!

Scammers are always finding new tricks. So stay alert! In addition to the content linked above, please visit our Identity Theft Prevention page for additional resources to protect yourself from fraud and scams.