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HANG UP ON PHONE SCAMS: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM FRAUD

Member security

White River Credit Union is serious about safeguarding your personal information online. We have designed this section of our website to give you information about protecting yourself from ID theft, email fraud and how to protect your personal information.

Protecting your accounts

White River Credit Union will never initiate a request for sensitive information via e-mail (i.e. Social Security number, password or account numbers). If you receive a phone call, text, or e-mail that requests this type of sensitive information, you should be suspicious of it and contact White River Credit Union to verify its authenticity.

Learn more at https://www.identitytheft.gov/

Have any questions or concerns? Contact us today and we’ll help you.

Identity Theft

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to prevent identity theft and credit fraud entirely. However, by managing your personal information carefully, and with a full understanding of its importance, you can substantially reduce the likelihood that it will happen to you.

Identity thieves have high and low-tech ways of stealing your personal information. They can search through your trash or hack into your personal computer. Here are a few examples of items identity thieves look for:

  • Your wallet or purse containing ID, credit cards, debit cards
  • Bank statements or receipts
  • Mail credit card statements, checks, tax information and pre-approved credit card offers
  • Personal information from your home or home computer
  • Files from offices where you are a customer, employee, patient or student. Manage your information wisely.
  • Do not reveal personal information unless you know how it will be used and if it will be shared with others
  • If bills don’t arrive on time, contact your creditors. A missing bill could mean you’ve been a victim of mail theft.
  • Deposit outgoing mail in postal collection boxes or at the post office. If you can’t pick up your mail, contact the post office and have your mail held until you can pick it up.
  • Do not use obvious passwords or Personal Identification Numbers on your various accounts. These include your birth date, mother’s maiden name or consecutive numbers.
  • Minimize the number of credit cards you carry. If you apply for a new credit card and it doesn’t arrive in a reasonable period, contact the issuer. When you receive a new credit card, sign it in permanent ink and activate it immediately.
  • Do not give out personal information over the phone, on the Internet or through the mail unless you have initiated the contact or know exactly who you are dealing with.
  • Make sure Internet sites that you share information with are secure and have a privacy policy.
  • Shred all charge receipts, credit applications and other statements before throwing them away.
  • Do not carry your Social Security Card or Personal Identification Numbers with you.
  • Safeguard personal information in your home especially if you are having service work done in your home, employ outside help or have a roommate.
  • Find out who has access to your information at work. Be sure to verify that records are kept in a secure location, and are accessible only to employees who have a legitimate reason to access it.
  • Order a free copy of your credit report from Annual Credit Report.com. Make sure it includes only those activities that you’ve authorized.

Phishing & vishing

Phishing, phone fraud, or email fraud can be a major problem for unsuspecting Internet users. Claiming to be sent by one of your financial services providers, these phone calls or emails ask members to reply with personal information, such as their credit card number, social security number or online User ID and password. These deceptive phone calls or emails are called “Spoof” emails or phone calls because they fake the appearance of a popular Web site or company in an attempt to commit identity theft. Email and phone phishing is occurring more and more frequently throughout the online world.

Vishing, or “voice phishing,” is a form of telephone fraud in which criminals use automated recordings or live callers to target victims over the phone. The goal of these calls is to obtain personal information, such as bank account numbers or Social Security numbers, that can be used for identity theft or other criminal activities. Vishing attackers will often claim to be from a legitimate institution, such as your bank or credit union, and will usually offer incentives if you provide them with the requested information.

How to protect yourself

Never provide your personal information in response to an unsolicited request whether it is over the phone or over the Internet. Emails, phone calls, and Internet pages created by phishers may look exactly like the real thing. They may even have a fake padlock icon that ordinarily is used to denote a secure site. If you did not initiate the communication, you should not provide any information.

If you believe the contact may be legitimate, contact the financial institution yourself. You can find phone numbers and websites on the monthly statements you receive from your financial institution, or you can look the company up in the phone book or on the Internet. The key is that you should be the one to initiate the contact, using contact information that you have verified yourself.

Never provide your password over the phone or in response to an unsolicited Internet request. A financial institution would never ask you to verify your account information online.

Review account statements regularly to ensure all charges are correct. If your account statement is late in arriving, call your financial institution to find out why. If your financial institution offers electronic access, periodically review activity online to catch suspicious activity.

If you responded to a fraudulent phone call or email and feel you are the victim of phone or email fraud, act immediately by contacting White River Credit Union at (360) 825-4833 or (800) 704-7931 or email us at email@whiterivercu.com. For additional information, visit our Learn page.

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