Popular Scams to Avoid

Popular Scams to Avoid

Lottery or prize scams: Never provide personal or financial information if you’ve been contacted about winning a prize, especially if you didn’t enter to win one. Scammers may try to get you to pay an upfront fee or taxes before receiving the “prize,” or they may ask for your account information––that way they can “deposit the money.” This is likely a scam.

Imposter scams: This is when a scammer pretends to be someone else, such as a government official, police officer, credit union or bank employee, friend, or family member––with the intention of obtaining your money or personal information. Always confirm the identity of the person contacting you. To avoid phone spoofing, hang up and call the person back directly. Your credit union won’t call you for online banking information, passwords, Social Security numbers, or other private personal information.

Wire or money transfer fraud: Never transfer money to someone you don’t know. If you are asked to send a payment via a wire transfer, prepaid card, or cryptocurrency, do not do it. These methods are nearly untraceable, and once the money is sent, it’s usually gone for good.

Check scams: If you’re selling something, do not accept a check for more than the requested amount. After the sale, scammers will ask you to send back the difference they “mistakenly” overpaid. The check will later bounce, and you’ve lost both the money and whatever item you sold.

Romance scams: These are deceptive schemes where scammers create fake online personas, pretending to be potential romantic partners, to exploit individuals looking for love or companionship. After building emotional connections with their victims over time, they gain their trust and affection. Once that trust is established, they ask for money.

Charity scams: Always verify that a charity is legitimate before donating. Check their website, look for reviews, and never donate if you’re feeling pressured. You should also be suspicious if a charity asks you to make a donation via cash or wire transfer.

Debt settlement or relief scams: Don’t pay upfront fees to any company that guarantees they can settle or eliminate your debts. Scammers will promise to negotiate with creditors on your behalf to settle your debts for a fraction of the amount owed, or even wipe the debt out entirely. They charge an upfront fee but fail to deliver on their promise, leaving you in a worse financial situation and without any real debt relief.

Disclaimer: Any reference made in this blog to a specific product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by Connected Credit Union of the product, process, or service, or its producer or provider.