Fraud & Scams

Identity thieves are very creative, sophisticated and bold. One of their more insidious scams is called ATM skimming. It involves teams of fraudsters who install wireless devices, called ATM skimmers, and cameras on legitimate financial institution ATMs. The fraudster’s goal is to steal both your ATM/Debit card number and your personal identification number (PIN).

How does ATM skimming happen?

• The skimmer and camera are disguised to look like normal ATM equipment.
• The skimmer is mounted to the front of the ATM card slot.
• It reads the ATM card number and transmits it to the fraudster.
• The wireless camera is mounted in a position to view the ATM keypad and film users’ PINs.
• The thieves make duplicate cards using your card information.
• Then, they use your PIN to withdraw as much money as possible.

When approaching an ATM, be aware of your surroundings and look closely at the ATM. If you see alterations to the equipment or anything appearing unusual, call us immediately. Do not remove the ATM skimming devices.

Also, be wary when using gasoline pumps. Fraudsters will install the same skimming devices in the card slot. If the slot area looks jammed inside, use another pump and alert the attendant.

These scams are perpetrated by thieves who send you a notification by mail, email, or an unsolicited phone call, which includes an announcement regarding winning a prize (often for a competition you didn’t enter). In order to “claim” the prize or winnings, you are told to send money to cover administrative costs.

Victims of lottery scams lose thousands of dollars responding to demands for payment to cover the costs of redeeming prizes when, in all probability, the prize did not exist. Victims rarely, if ever, receive any winnings in return for their cash.

How to Spot Prize and Lottery Scams

Protect yourself and your money. Look for any of the following elements in the prize or lottery notifications:

• The information advises that you have won a prize, but you did not enter any competition run by the contest promoters.
• The notification was sent by bulk mail, though it may be personally addressed by you. Thousands of other targets around the world may have received the same notification.
• The prize promoters  ask you to pay a fee upfront for administration or "processing."
• The notice contains an offer to buy shares in a fund that purports to purchase tickets in legitimate overseas lotteries.
• The offer includes prizes or the opportunity to purchase “exclusive items” (If these items are real, they are often substandard, overpriced, or falsely represented).
• The notice states that claiming the prize may require traveling abroad at your own expense.

The cross-border purchase or sale of lottery tickets is a violation of U.S. law. Since these scams are generally operated outside of the United States, victims have very little recourse to recover losses.

“Phishing” refers to fraudulent processes in which fraudsters attempt to obtain your personal information through electronic communications such as emails, text messages, or instant messages. These messages appear to be from a trustworthy entity, such as a financial institution, insurance company, retailer, or regulatory agency. However, the messages are not legitimate. The fraudsters typically ask you to send your personal information to a website and then use that information to commit identity theft.

Beach Municipal FCU does not request personal information by email, text messaging, or instant messaging. Beware of any unsolicited email that request personal information of any kind. Do not respond to any such email, text, instant message, pop-up, or link. The following tips will help you spot fraudulent messages:

• The sender’s name is usually generic, such as “Customer Service Department,” or is just the company’s name, such as “XYZ Bank.”
• The message title generally concerns an “urgent matter” that requires your immediate attention, such as “verifying” certain information to prevent the company from suspending or closing your account.
• The message may look professional and official, often displaying the look and feel of a website that you know. It may even contain links or pop-up windows that have the appearance of legitimacy.
• The sender may ask for ATM or credit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), sign-on IDs, and other personal information, such as your Social Security number, date of birth, or mother’s maiden name — all of which thieves can use to take over an account or commit identity theft.
• The message may point you to a domain name that appears to be related to the legitimate domain name.

If you are ever unsure of the origin of a Beach Municipal FCU email or believe it is not legitimate, do not click on the links. Instead, type www.beachmunicipal.org or a specific URL in your browser’s address bar.

Stay Secure

Help us protect your financial information. Ensuring your account security is a top priority for Beach Municipal FCU. Working together we can help keep you and your account information safer. You can do your part by keeping in mind the following safeguards:

• Check your monthly statements to ensure they match your recollection and your other records. If you have online access, check them frequently. If at any time you notice any discrepancies between your statements and your other records, please notify us immediately.
• Never give out account numbers or other personal financial information, unless you can validate the authenticity of the requester.
• Always shred personal and financial information before discarding it.
• Review your credit report. Free, secure online credit reports are available weekly from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion through annualcreditreport.com. You should review your reports at least annually or if your information has been exposed in a data breach.

Advance-fee schemes involve victims paying a fee upfront with the promise of receiving something of greater value later. There are many types of advance-fee schemes. For example, a company might offer to improve your credit report in exchange for an advance fee. Another prevalent variation is the Nigerian Advance Fee Scheme, also known globally as 419 fraud. Despite numerous warnings, it continues to deceive many people. Avoid becoming a victim.

How do these scams work?

In the example of the Nigerian Advance Fee Scheme, you might receive an unsolicited letter or email from someone claiming to be a senior official from the Central Bank of Nigeria or the Nigerian government. The message will seek a reputable foreign company or individual willing to use their bank account for a significant fee to facilitate a large financial transaction, supposedly involving the deposit of "millions of dollars."

The aim is to deceive targets into believing they are chosen for a profitable opportunity. They receive various documents with official-looking stamps, seals, and logos designed to give the proposal an appearance of legitimacy.

Once engaged in the scheme, you may be told they must:

• Travel overseas to complete the transaction.
• Provide blank company letterhead forms, banking account information, phone and/or fax numbers.
• Pay advance fees for various taxes, attorney fees, transaction fees, or bribes to Nigerian officials, all of which will be refunded. 

Of course, the money they promised to transfer never arrives. The fraudsters count on the fact that by the time victims recognize the offer as a deception, they will have already sent thousands of dollars to the scammers.

How can I avoid these schemes?
 

• If the offer of an “opportunity” appears too good to be true, it probably is.
• Use common sense and remember that legitimate business is rarely conducted in this manner.
• Know the individuals or parties with whom you are dealing.
• Don’t enter into an agreement with strangers if you did not initiate the contact.
• Be wary of businesses that operate from Post Office boxes or mail drops and do not have a physical street address.

Unlike email phishing attacks (where the goal is to get you to point your web browser to a fraudulent site by clicking on a bad link), vishing employs text messages, phone recordings, and email to persuade you to dial a phone number or respond to a phone call. The fraudsters frequently will say your account is or will be suspended, deactivated, or terminated if you do not respond.

What do Fraudsters say?

Fraudsters instruct people to contact their financial institution using a fake phone number provided in an email or through a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) recording. During the call, the fraudster requests your card number and other personal information.

What about text messages?

Since fraudsters constantly vary their scams, beware of text messages, emails, and telephone calls or recordings requesting confidential data.

What steps can I take to protect myself?

• Do you know the sender of the email? If you do, proceed with caution before clicking a link. If not, do not click any links.
• Have you checked the link? Mouse over the link and check the URL. Does it look legitimate or does it look like it will take you to a different website?
• Does the email contain grammatical errors? If so, be suspicious.
• Are there any attachments in the email? If so, do not open the attachment before contacting the sender to verify its contents.
• Does the email request personal information? If so, do not reply.

Beach Municipal FCU does not request personal account information by text message, email, or automated phone call. Do not respond to any unsolicited texts, emails, pop-ups, or links asking for your personal information of any kind.