Holiday Season Fraud Prevention

Holiday shopping is in full swing, and with it comes the increased potential to fall victim to holiday season fraud. Keep your safety and security a priority by unwrapping our fraud prevention tips below.

What to look out for

 The most common form of fraud found in the banking industry is a result of social engineering: this is when a fraudster impersonates your financial institution to trick you into sharing your account credentials, which are then later used for an account takeover.

Always be aware and suspicious of phone calls, emails, texts or any communication you receive from someone you don’t know. Particularly if they want your personal information or money.

**As a reminder, 7 17 will NEVER contact members to request sensitive, personal information, such as account numbers, NetWorth24 Online Banking credentials or PIN numbers.

How to protect yourself

• Do not provide your online banking log in credentials, one-time password, account number or personal information by email, text or phone call. Make sure you are only using published phone numbers to reach out to your financial institution.
• Never give out information to anyone requesting information via text. Your financial institution will never request this information or pressure you to reset your online banking log in password.
• Never click on links in unsolicited emails or texts. Phishing is when scammers send emails or text messages that appear to be from a reputable company and are not.
• Do not respond to texts, calls or emails for one-time passcode authorizations that you did not request or validate the login.
• Never trust caller ID as caller ID may be modified to show your financial institution’s name.
• Do not give information over the phone if you receive a call stating that a transaction is canceled, even if the caller claims to be from your financial institution. Once again, you should contact your financial institution using a published phone number to inquire about the transaction.
• Never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer.

 While you should always be on the lookout for fraud, it’s important to be extra vigilant during the holidays when scammers are looking to take advantage of the rush and people’s generosity.