At Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, your safety and well-being come first. We monitor for fraudulent and suspicious activity on all accounts, but we want to ensure you understand fraud prevention so you can protect yourself. That’s why we recommend you never provide any personal, private information via phone or email and we keep you updated on current fraud schemes.
The most important thing you can do to protect yourself is to place a freeze on your credit reports. This will make it much more difficult for fraudsters to open loans and bank accounts in your name.
You can place the freeze for FREE at these links:
Protect your account by making sure your contact info, especially your cell phone number, is up to date. Having current contact info allows us to notify you in case of potential fraud situations.
Skimming captures magnetic info from a credit or debit card and uses it for fraudulent purposes. To help prevent your card from being skimmed:
Phishing scams include “spoofed” emails and fraudulent websites that appear as though they’re being sent by a person or organization you already know and ask you to provide or “verify” your personal, private information (passwords, credit card numbers, account numbers, etc.). To avoid phishing:
SMiShing, a combination of “SMS”, the technical term for texting, and “phishing,” uses text messages to prompt individuals to provide the “SMiSher” with their personal, private information. To avoid SMiShing:
Identity theft, the fastest-growing crime in the country, occurs when someone steals someone else’s personal, private information and then pretends to be that person. Minimize your risk of identity theft:
This scam involves the distribution of cashier’s checks that appear to come from ACFCU, but are actually fraudulent. If you receive an unexpected ACFCU cashier’s check, immediately contact us before depositing it to determine whether it is legitimate or not.
This long-running scam targets older victims by pretending to be their grandson or granddaughter and requesting they wire money to them for an emergency, without providing too many details. They may say things like “please don’t tell Mom or Dad” or “My nose is broken, so I may sound strange.”
Scammers pose as judicial officials or police and call people from a spoofed law enforcement phone numbers or name to let them know they failed to report for jury duty and owe a fine.
In 2019, the federal government replaced Medicare cards that featured enrollee’s social security numbers with an 11-digit identification number instead to help protect seniors from identity theft. Now, scammers attempt to trick people into giving them their new 11-digit identification number so they can take over their identity.
This typically involves a dating site account with fake information and photos for a profile that is too good to be true. Once a target has been established, the scam usually escalates to the thief’s unveiling of a money problem and may include the request for funds so he or she can travel to meet you in person or to help a sick relative.
These scammers claim the victims owe money to the IRS and must pay promptly or be arrested, deported or have their driver’s license suspended. Sometimes, the caller becomes aggressive, warning people that a sheriff or local law enforcement will show up at their door if they don’t pay immediately. The IRS will never call to demand immediate payment over the phone, threaten to bring in local police, ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone, or require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes.
This scam can occur through a phishing email, a phone call, a pop-up ad or a locked screen on your device with a phone number to call to fix it. Legitimate customer, security, or tech support companies will not initiate unsolicited contact with individuals.
This scam involves someone reaching out to you claiming to be a friend or relative, and they tell you they are in a hospital in a foreign country and can’t leave without paying for the surgery. They encourage you to send a wire transfer to a foreign bank account that is actually owned by the fraudster.
Be mindful of the information you share on social media platforms. Cybercriminals often use personal details gathered from your profiles to target you and even your family members.
Stay vigilant against phishing attempts by verifying the legitimacy of unexpected links in emails or messages, as these scams aim to exploit trust and compromise your online security. If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from a trusted company, even if the caller ID seems legitimate, it’s best to end the call and independently contact the company using a trusted number to verify the authenticity of the call.
Your SSN is a precious piece of information. Only disclose it when absolutely necessary and to trusted entities.
If you receive unsolicited calls requesting sensitive information such as bank account details, SSNs, birthdates, or any other personal data, hang up immediately. Legitimate organizations won’t ask for such information without a valid reason.
Enabling MFA on your accounts is crucial in securing your digital presence, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access and safeguarding your sensitive information from potential security threats.
Pay close attention to your billing cycles. If you notice that bills or financial statements are delayed, contact the sender to verify the situation.
Regularly review your credit card and bank account statements. Compare receipts with the information on your statements to detect any unauthorized transactions promptly.
Dispose of sensitive documents such as receipts, credit offers, account statements, and expired credit cards by shredding them. This helps prevent identity theft, especially from people rummaging through trash.
By signing up for these alerts, you’ll immediately be made aware of any suspicious activity associated with your accounts. Staying aware of account activity is important, particularly if there’s fraud.
Here are the steps to set up alerts on your account:
1. Login to Online or Mobile Banking.
2. For mobile, click the “More” menu at the bottom of the screen.
3. Click on “Notifications” and “Alerts”.
4. Select the account for which you want to set up an alert.
5. Click the toggle button for “Transactions” and set your preferences in the window that opens.
6. Set your dollar amount and delivery method. You can get a text, email or push notification, or all three!
7. Click Save.
Obtain and review your credit reports from major credit bureaus at least once a year. Ensure there are no suspicious activities or errors that could negatively affect your credit score.
If you suspect your identify has been stolen, consider freezing your credit files with Equifax, Experian, Innovis, or TransUnion. Freezing your credit can help prevent unauthorized access to your credit history, making it more difficult for identity thieves to open accounts in your name.
Protect yourself from fraud: Contact ACFCU directly if you have any questions or concerns via Secure Messaging in mobile or online banking, an email to acfcu@esr990.com1 (email is not secure, so don’t include any private info) or by calling: 703.526.0200 x4.
While we do monitor fraudulent or suspicious activity and may proactively contact you about this activity, we will never call and ask for confidential information such as your entire account number or PIN. Contact us: 703.526.0200 x4 if you have provided confidential information. Message and data rates may apply.
1Please do not submit your account number or social security number via email or contact form. Information sent is at risk of loss of confidentiality if the information is transmitted over the internet.