Fraud and Scams with Caroline
Podcast Transcription
Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU where we will share tips and tricks and talk to the experts on all things finance related. Join us as we cover everything from credit and loans to cyber security and careers. No matter where you are in life, PFCU is here for you.
Maddy: Welcome to another episode of Money Talk, I’m your host, Maddy. This episode is an important one because I chatted with Caroline in our fraud department here at PFCU. With fraud and scams continuing to be top of mind for a lot of people who have either been affected, know someone who has been affected or just want to keep their information safe when these scammers are getting more and more sophisticated, we thought this would be a great chance to remind you of common scams, red flags and really, how to avoid becoming a victim. Please join me in welcoming, Caroline.
Caroline: My name is Caroline. I have been here at PFCU for 10 years now. I started out as a teller. I worked in loans, collections, and I really enjoy fraud. I've been working on fraud for a couple of years now.
Maddy: Good and obviously I think everyone hears about fraud. We see scams happening, especially in credit union land. Could you maybe touch on some common ones that you've seen recently that people should be aware of?
Caroline: There are so many scams out there. Fraudsters are always looking for ways to make quick money. We're seeing romance scams where someone believes that they have found their true love online. Work from home scams where they think it's a remote job and it is not a remote job at all it is in fact a scam again. We see people looking for loans and so they're applying for loans online and it ends up being a fraudulent loan place that's not a real loan business and their information is compromised and they don't get the loan they actually end up losing money and in a worse situation than they were before. There's a lot of phishing attacks, ID theft and impersonators out there.
Maddy: Wow, could you go into the phishing and smishing a little bit in more detail? Cause I feel like that's going around a lot right now, especially with like the text messages coming in. What should people look out for with those?
Caroline: Yes. So actually, people all over the United States are being phished and smished. It's really worldwide. I'm only aware of the United States primarily though. And what is happening sometimes in those smishing texts is that the fraudster sends a text to try to phish to get them to either click on a link or call them and contact them and they're trying to smish or phish information out of them. So phishing attack is usually email, smishing is the text, so the SMS message. And it is just a way to gather more personal identification information.
Maddy: Yeah, I know I actually interviewed my husband. He's a police officer. And it was interesting to see from that point of view, like the things that people get caught up with, especially to phone calls that people get phone calls and they maybe think of family members and jail or they need to buy a bunch of gift cards for something. In addition to just emails and texting, people are getting those phone calls too.
Caroline: They are. We call it a grandparent scam sometimes where, you know, the imposter calls and says, grandma, it's me, I'm out of jail. And they don't give a name and they say, Johnny, is that you? Yeah, grandma, it's me, Johnny. And then they go from there and they'll give them just crazy stories. Typically, they ask for a strange payment method. So, gift cards or Bitcoin, and no one's going to ask for payment. And that's a red flag right there that you're getting scammed and whoever you're sending money to is not your family member.
Maddy: Good. So red flag to look out for is those strange payment methods. Are there any other red flags to look out for when it comes to scams?
Caroline: Absolutely. There are just so many things. I want to summarize just a few for you. But if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. And if somebody is asking you for a gift card, Bitcoin, Cash App, Zelle, MoneyGram, Western Union, it's probably a scam. If it's not a regular payment method, gift cards are for gifting. They are not for paying the IRS, the FBI. They're not for bailing people out of jail. Bitcoin is not a way to invest your money to get someone out of jail or pay off ransomware. If somebody is saying they've hijacked your computer and they're demanding Bitcoin, it's a scam. Also, if someone says they're from your power company and they're demanding payment, then you should be able to pay online. Yes, power companies do call you if you are in a situation like that, but they're not going to say to pay with that unusual payment method.
Maddy: Right. Could you talk about when your financial institution or what appears to be your financial institution contacts you, what they will or will not ask you for and what people should be looking out for with that?
Caroline: Absolutely. So, if your financial institution is contacting you, they already have your information, you don't need to give them say a username for your online banking or your password, your financial institution, any loan company is not going to ask for your secure access code. The only way you get that secure access code is by you hitting that button saying you forgot your password or something like that. And then that secure access code goes to you because you requested it and you're going to put it in. We don't need to verify who you are through a secure access code. And giving that information out gives that hacker or that impersonator full access to your online banking and your information.
Maddy: Is there any other advice you could give for people who would like to keep their information safe aside from not giving out any of that online banking info?
Caroline: Yeah. Just be aware of the latest fraud trends. You can check out the FTC website, AARP. We have our fraud education page here, that marketing put together. You don't even have to have a login. You can ask anybody to go out to it. There's resources. Talk to your friends and family. Don't feel ashamed if something seems weird or someone's threatening you to try to get money. Talk to someone, talk through it before you do anything.
Maddy: Good. And what should people do if they suspect that they are a victim of fraud?
Caroline: Yeah. So, recognize that you've experienced a crime. Again, don't hide from it. Don't be ashamed of it. You definitely should report it to law enforcement, to the FTC. There is an internet crime complaint center online. So, if you're being contacted, say through Snapchat or Instagram, some sort of social media, you can report that complaint to that IC3. If your social security number is compromised, if somebody tricks you or you find out they get a hold of it. freeze your credit with all three credit bureaus because you don't want the fraud and the scams to continue. You can stop right there.
Maddy: Is there anything else that you wanted to share while we're on this topic?
Caroline: Yeah, I definitely want to touch base on if someone is emailing you, emailing you a check, it's fraud as well. So that might fall under that work from home scam, but we're seeing more and more people saying, oh, they emailed me this check and told me to deposit it for mobile deposit. That's not a legal check. You can't print a check off of your own computer on regular paper. It's not going to be good. And if you send the money back, unfortunately, the scammers going to win the money and you may be held responsible to pay that back to your financial institution.
Maddy: Right. Good to know. All right. Well, thank you, Caroline. That's all I had for you. We appreciate it.
Caroline: Absolutely. Have a great day.
Maddy: You too.
Money Talk is a podcast brought to you by PFCU. PFCU offers many products and services to fit your needs, from our various loan and account options to our team of financial coaches to help you reach your goals. Make sure to take advantage of the many conveniences PFCU offers such as the mobile app, mobile wallets, bill pay and more. Visit our website at PFCU the number four me dot com to learn more. PFCU is an equal housing lender and is federally insured by the NCUA.