Avoiding Fraud via Phone Call

Debit and credit card use has been on the rise for years, but when the pandemic of 2020 happened it skyrocketed. With the use of online banking and electronic payments comes the potential of different types of scams.  Fraudsters are smart, all they need is your name to get started.  I am going to touch on the basics of phone scams below and how to avoid being scammed. 

When a transaction is questionable, your financial institution or credit card company will reach out to verify that transaction with you. They should not be asking for personally identifiable information, examples: social security number, account number, card numbers etc. The call should be centered around the questionable transaction and possibly other transactions that occurred within the timeframe of the questionable transaction. Our fraud team will only ask you about the transactions and amounts, any further information is too much information to give them.  

The fraudsters don’t know if there is fraud on your account and will have a made-up transaction to go over with you. Prior to discussing the transaction, they will ask for you to verify your card/account number for them first, they shouldn’t need that information from you to verify the transactions.  This is how they obtain the necessary information from you to perform fraudulent transactions. 

Don’t trust the caller id (fraudsters can make it say anyone is calling). If you are questioning the call or they are pressing for further personal information please hang up and call the known business line, not a number the caller is telling you to call.  No one should ask you to verify your account/card number prior to discussing a transaction with you if they are the one who called you.  

On the other hand, if you call the credit union to discuss your account or transactions the financial institution will need to verify that they are in fact talking to you and not someone impersonating you. 

Kristi Lordson

Quality Assurance/Compliance Specialist I

This blog is not on behalf of Peninsula Federal Credit Union.