Fraud Awareness

The potential for fraud is always a concern not only during the holidays. SWOFCU will never contact you directly to ask for account information such as balances, usernames/passwords, personal information or ask to access your PC/laptop/mobile device remotely. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from SWOFCU or any other business asking for this kind of information, hang up and call us or that business directly.

Keep in mind that services such as Zelle® should only be used to move money to people you know and trust. We do not recommend using these types of person-to-person services to pay for goods or services.

Our debit and credit cards are monitored by a Fraud Detection Service to help prevent your card from being used maliciously. If unexpected or fraudulent transactions are detected, you may receive a text message or call from our Fraud Alerts service verifying if a transaction on your card was valid.  For more protection use our card management features by selecting “Cards” in our Mobile App to help monitor and protect your debit and credit cards.

 

Monitor Your Credit

Check your credit report annually, consumers are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus annually.  Simply go to AnnualCreditReport.com to get started.  Items to watch for are “new” or “re-opened” accounts and other suspicious activity.

SWOFCU Online and Mobile banking users have access to “My Credit Score” via Savvy Money which allows you to see your credit score and receive daily credit monitoring with alerts of major changes plus so much more.

 

Protect Yourself Online

  • Use strong passwords that are at least 11 characters in length that are case-sensitive and include alpha-numeric characters and a least one symbol.
  • Use a password checker to ensure you’re using a strong password. Do Not use the same password for multiple websites used to conduct online transactions.
  • Be sure your home computer is protected with a firewall and antivirus/anti-malware software.  A Best practice is to configure the antivirus/anti-malware software to automatically check for updates at least weekly.
  • Be sure to install operating system patches when they are made available.
  • Avoid using public Wi-Fi and public computers to conduct online transactions.  The use of a VPN can make public Wi-Fi more secure.
  • When offered, use multifactor authentication for account logins or out-of-brand authentication to confirm login attempts and/or transactions.
  • Be wary of what you’re sharing – Openly sharing information on social media can provide an identity thief with the necessary information to impersonate you, or answer certain challenge questions. Keep social media accounts private, and be cautious who you’re connecting with.  Never share anything related to your credit union account, transaction history or identifying information in unprotected public forums.