It’s no secret that technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are evolving at a rapid pace. This gives fraudsters access to more sophisticated tools to scam you and your loved ones out of your hard-earned cash.
The best way to protect yourself? Get familiar with how to detect scams and steps you can take to prevent damage to your finances.
Even as scammers’ technology gets more advanced, these simple tips can save you from putting your personal or financial information at risk.
When you receive an email, check the “from” email address, not just the sender’s name. Fraudsters can easily make it appear that an email is coming from a person or company you know or trust. The sender’s name is what shows up in your inbox and can be filled out any way a sender wants.
Here’s an example: It’s easy for a fraudster to enter PSECU as the sender’s name when they’re setting up their own email settings before they contact you. When they do this, they’re hoping that you won’t look too closely, and therefore won’t notice that the email address itself isn’t correct. In the above example, the fraudster wants the recipient to believe that the email is actually coming from PSECU so that they’ll feel comfortable providing personal or financial information.
Depending on the email service you use, the way you can see a sender’s email address may differ. In Outlook, for example, you can see the email address once you open the message. In the example above, you can see that, even though it says this message is from PSECU, the email address it’s being sent from is psecu@hello.psecu.com, which is not our correct address.
Verifying that the sender’s email address is correct is just the first step in ensuring that an email is legitimate. More sophisticated scammers can make it appear that a message is coming from the correct email address as well, so you’ll want to follow the additional tips below to help determine if an email is legitimate.
Did you know that if you hover your mouse over a link, you can see what URL it will take you to before you click? This is a helpful way to ensure that you’re being taken to the correct website before you click and potentially begin entering any information.
When a scammer is writing an email or website, they can easily make it look like you’re going to the correct site while actually embedding a link to a copycat or fraudulent page. Hovering over the link before you click gives you confirmation of what URL you’ll be directed to.
While everyone loves a good shopping spree, you can rest assured that we at PSECU (and most reputable companies) do not want you to pay your auto or other loan by sending us gift cards.
When you receive a request like this, be aware that you’re most likely being contacted by fraudsters. In these scams, you may be asked to submit payment oddly, like paying an outstanding utility bill by sending gift cards, wiring money to a company you typically pay online, or using cryptocurrency as your payment method.
Fraudsters often try to trick you into sending money in these ways because:
Gift cards are hard to track because they’re not tied to a specific name. You don’t have to enter any identifying information to use a gift card for a purchase, making it hard to see who is using the gift cards once they’re sent.
Once money is sent via a wire transfer, it’s often impossible to recover or trace. This leaves your hard-earned cash in the hands of the scammers and you with a mess to clean up.
Cryptocurrency isn’t subject to regulations or government oversight. Once a cryptocurrency transaction occurs it cannot be undone, making it particularly appealing to scammers.
Learn more about gift card scams.
Get the lowdown on cryptocurrency.
It’s always important to be cautious when giving out your personal information. But there may be times when you contact a company you trust, like a credit union or your doctor’s office, that you need to provide account or personal information so the company can verify it’s really you calling in.
Most often, however, companies do not request this information from you in a call or text that you don’t initiate.
This is the case at PSECU. We will never contact you and ask you to provide your account number, PIN, full credit card number, or digital banking credentials in a call, text, or email that we send to you.
Is someone impersonating PSECU? Discover how to detect spoofing scams.
“If you don’t send money before the end of the day, you’ll be summoned to court.” “If you don’t complete the wire transfer, your grandchild will be taken to prison.” Or, “If you don’t click on this link and provide your account information, your bank account will be locked indefinitely.”
Extreme statements like these have no place in official and legitimate emails from businesses or government agencies you trust. However, scammers will include them in emails or texts to you in the hopes that you’ll be scared into acting quickly.
Pause before you send money, complete a wire transfer, click on links, provide account information, or take any other action. Take time to directly contact the business or government office the email or text is supposedly coming from or contact the family member that is claimed to be at risk.
Important note: don’t use the contact information provided in one of these emails or texts! Instead, use the phone number or email address provided on the trusted company’s website.
Scammers are always coming up with new ways to trick you out of your money. With PSECU, you can be assured that we take steps to protect your personal and financial information and provide you with tips to keep yourself safe. Check out our resource center for more security tips.