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ROUTING NUMBER: 307070050
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ROUTING NUMBER: 307070050
By K-Staff
Most people are aware they should not send money to a stranger, which is why fraudsters often take different tacks, pretending to be a person or company with whom you may be familiar. To stay vigilant and avoid becoming a victim, it is important to understand how these imposter scams work.
The scammer’s aim is to get you to let your guard down. The scammers make you believe scenarios while impersonating someone, to make you feel more comfortable. They often ask you to do something you should not, such as buying gift cards, and providing the information on the cards to a third party or sending a deposit to yourself.
Some scammers have even been using artificial intelligence to mimic friends or family members voices, making it difficult to tell if the outreach is genuine. What’s more, imposter scams are currently the number-one most reported type of scam, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and losses are mounting. People reported losing $2.6 billion to imposters in 2022, an increase from $2.4 billion the previous year.
To protect your finances and avoid becoming a victim, here is what you need to know about three common imposter scams, including advice on how to steer clear of them.
How they work: A fraudster pretending to be a financial institution agent contacts you in one of the following ways:
What can you do:
Be cautious. A real financial institution will never call, email, text, or send direct messages on social media to demand money or information.
If they are calling you directly, they will also never require you to provide a one-time passcode (OTP). Your one-time passcode comes with a warning not to share the code with anyone.
Never assume outreach like this is legitimate just because the name or number looks official; scammers can manipulate these.
If you’re asked to send payments or personal information, it’s best to verify the request directly with the financial institution or company through a confirmed communication channel. Try using the phone number or email address on the back of your credit or debit card, on the financial institution’s official website, or on your account statement.
How they work: These schemes entail a fraudster sending you a text or email that appears to be from a major company you’ve likely used or shopped from, like Amazon, PayPal, or Microsoft.
The note confirms your (fictitious) order and instructs you to contact customer care if you did not place the order.
Once you do this, you receive a message indicating a fraud agent from your bank will contact you shortly. You then receive a call from this “agent” who tells you someone is trying to make payments from your peer-to-peer payment account.
They tell you the only way to resolve this is to send money back to your account to cancel the pending transaction. Meanwhile, the scammer is the one who will receive the money because they’ve linked their account to your credentials.
What you can do: If you receive an unexpected delivery notice, be suspicious. Don’t click on the link or call back.
Links could install malware to pull personal information from your device or take you to a spoofed website with a fake chat feature run by the scammer. Phone numbers could lead to a fake operator asking for your credit card number or other account details or instructing you to send funds.
Instead, check the website for the number or email address of the delivery service or seller so you can sort this out directly.
How they work: A fraudster pretends to be a government agency staff member or law enforcement officer advising you of a past-due balance for a warrant, pending arrest, or other police activity. By text, email, or phone call, the “officer” instructs you to pay immediately via wire, peer-to-peer payment app, or gift card to resolve the issue.
What to do: Be wary of any correspondence that doesn’t provide valid contact information or urges you to act immediately.
Never click on unknown links because they could install malware or lead to a spoofed website with a scammer-run chat feature.
Also, remember that government entities will never require a specific form of payment. You can check the validity of the notice by using the phone number or email address listed on the agency’s official website.
If you have fallen victim to any scam or fraud, contact Kirtland Credit Union immediately for assistance at 1.800.880.5328. We’re here to help.
Routing Number: 307070050
6440 Gibson Blvd. SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108
Federally insured by NCUA Equal Opportunity Lender