Protect yourself from fraud
With the latest news regarding breaches for a major credit card company, we wanted to give some best practices on keeping your account(s) from falling prey.
- If you’re being alerted of suspicious activity via text message, you’ll never have to respond via a link. Legitimate organizations will include information regarding suspicious activity in the text, and will ask you to respond with a one-word answer; such as yes, no, help, or stop.
- If you’re being contacted about your account via text, look for a 5-digit number. The contact number will not look like a regular 7-10 digit phone number.
- If you suspect an alert is not legitimate, do not provide your information and get off the line as soon as possible. Find a customer service number from the website and call to verify or confirm.
- Be vigilant and review the transactions on your account daily, if possible. That way, if there has been suspicious activity, it will be handled promptly.
- Don’t give out your PIN or security code on the back of your card for any reason. A fraudster may tell you that your card has been blocked and another will be sent in the mail. Even still, do not provide this information.
