New scams pop up every year, and staying safe requires continuously educating yourself to avoid being cheated in the future.
Read these top 7 critical tips from our Security team
1. SDFCU will not contact you and ask for your debit, credit card, or detailed personal information. If you get a call, text, or email claiming to be from SDFCU or any financial institution asking you for private information don't provide your details. This includes card number, CVV, PIN, username, passwords, account number, or social security number.
It is best to contact the business that is reaching out to you directly to confirm legitimacy.
2. Don’t share your online banking one-time passcodes, username or passwords with anyone, not even SDFCU.
3. Use strong, unique passwords. Creating strong, unique passwords for each of your online accounts is essential. Use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols, and avoid using easily guessable information like birthdays or names.
4. Don’t click on links in emails and texts! Reach out directly using known telephone numbers or email addresses.
5. Caller ID isn't always reliable, so if you're ever unsure who is contacting you, reach out directly using known telephone numbers or email addresses.
6. Don’t allow unknown persons or companies remote access to your devices.
7. If someone contacts you claiming to be from a government agency (for example the IRS, law enforcement, Medicaid, or the post office) and asks you for your Social Security number, bank account/credit card numbers, or to withdraw money to process an outstanding payment or refund - this is a scam.
Here are other ways you can protect yourself
- Frequently review your account and card statements. Contact us if you notice any unusual account activity.
- Set-Up Account Alerts in Online Banking. These are various rules you can set-up to be notified about account activity like; low balance or large withdrawal.
Log in to Online Banking and select Products from the navigation. There you will see Account Alerts.
- Manage your Debit and Credit Cards through our Online Banking and the Mobile App Card Management feature. There you can turn your card off if you’ve temporarily misplaced it and turn it back on if you found it. You can also set-up travel notifications, card alerts, and controls. You can create card spending limits, alerts for large card charges, alerts for certain types of transactions, and much more. Log in.
- Enroll in SavvyMoney. A free tool available in Online Banking that can help you monitor your credit. Review it frequently for unusual activity. The tool is also available in the SDFCU Mobile App.
- You can report and view commonly used Scams on the FTC.GOV website.
Read more of our collection of Learning Hub Security articles for tips on safeguarding your personal financial information and avoiding online fraud.
