As Banking Scammers Get Savvier, Here’s How to Stay Safe
Article published in Northampton Living
(April 2024)
Have you heard of phishing and smishing? These are the latest tactics deployed by scammers to trick you into sharing important banking information and online banking login credentials, or to get you to approve fraudulent card transactions.
Phishing aims to steal personal information, while smishing is phishing delivered by text. (Smishing is a hybrid of SMS, or short message service, and phishing.) As these tactics have gained popularity amongst scammers, organizations of all shapes and sizes have been targeted. From the big banks to local credit unions, scammers are casting a wide net and seeing who they can ensnare. How do they do this? By selecting an institution and bombarding affiliated phone numbers with text messages and phone calls from numbers masked to look legitimate.
So, what can you do to keep your information secure?
Call or Message Your Financial Institution
The easiest way to confirm the legitimacy of any communication, especially a phone call, is to hang up and initiate a new call directly with your financial institution.
Never Share Your Credentials
Banking representatives will never ask you to confirm your login information to verify your identity. Remember, your financial institution established unique security questions when you first set up your account with them.
Keep Your Passwords Complex
Best practice dictates including a special character (a symbol or punctuation mark) in your passwords, and changing your password once every 6 months.
Keep Your Credit Locked Until You Need It
Did you know that all 3 credit bureaus offer the ability to freeze or lock your credit? These free self-serve controls help ensure that no one can open an account or card in your name, and with real-time unlock, you can always sign in to authorize your credit pulls.
If You Think You’re Experiencing Identity Theft
Contact your financial institution immediately to alert them and inquire about additional security features for your account. Next, file an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission at identitytheft.gov. This process will walk you through additional steps you may need to take to create a recovery plan, in addition to helping you file a report with the appropriate officials.
At UMassFive, ensuring the security of our members' information is paramount. Security standards include robust technological measures such as firewalls and encryption features, and our staff is well-trained to actively participate in safeguarding our members’ information. It is also critical that we provide our members with tools to help keep their accounts safe, such as our MyCards card control feature and secure messaging within our Online Banking system. Ultimately, we’re here to help keep your accounts safe.
For additional articles on protecting your banking information, visit knowledge.umassfive.coop.