Imposter Fraud: What it is and how to protect yourself

Fraud is a massive issue in the financial world, and educating yourself on current fraud trends can help you identify scams and keep your identity and accounts safe. While fraud and scams are not new, they are ever-changing. One of the top scams currently happening throughout the financial world is imposter scams.

What you’ll learn:

• What is imposter fraud?
• How to identify imposter fraud
• What to do if you receive a call or message that appears fraudulent
• What to do if your account becomes compromised
• Fraud prevention at Alliant Credit Union

What is imposter fraud?

Imposter fraud occurs when a scammer pretends to be someone else and calls, emails or texts you. They use tactics to convince you that they are a person or organization they are not and then deceive and manipulate you into providing them with your personal information or money. They may use spoofed (fake) phone numbers that appear legitimate or email addresses that mimic those of the financial institution or business they are copying.

Imposters may pretend to be someone you know, such as a family member, friend, boss, someone from a trusted business or even the IRS. They may try to convince you to get you to give up personal information, buy a gift card or wire money.

How to identify imposter fraud

Understanding how to identify imposter fraud is the first step to keeping yourself and your accounts safe. A few signs of imposter fraud include:

1. A sense of urgency. Fraudsters may reach out to you about something pertaining to your account and try to hurry you to make a payment or decision.
2. Request for private information. Imposter fraudsters may reach out to you imitating your financial institutions to try and get you to hand over your personal or account information. Never hand over sensitive information, such as your Social Security number, credit card number or bank account information.
3. Spoofed phone numbers or email addresses. Don’t trust your caller ID; if you are unsure of a call or text, hang up and contact the business or institution yourself to confirm legitimacy.
4. Emotional response. Some imposters will try to feed off your emotions to elicit a response. Before reacting, always confirm that the call or message is legitimate.

What to do if you receive a call or message that appears fraudulent

Simply receiving an imposter call, text or email does not mean your account has been compromised. If you receive a call or message that you think appears fraudulent, contact the business or institution immediately to confirm whether the call or message did come from the company it seems to have. If the message does turn out to be fraudulent, it is a good idea to report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

What to do if your account becomes compromised

If you do respond to an imposter and share your information, contact the business or institution as soon as you realize your account has been compromised. Try to gather as much evidence as possible about the fraud, including text, emails, call logs and any other type of communication.

Fraud prevention at Alliant Credit Union

Alliant Credit Union is committed to helping you keep your account safe from fraud. If you think you have received a call, text or email from someone claiming to be from Alliant, please do not provide them with any information. Alliant Credit Union will never ask for information such as your full credit or debit card number, one-time password, account username, password or PIN.

If you think an imposter is targeting you or want to ensure a message you receive is legitimate, never hesitate to contact us at 800-328-1935 to confirm.