Essential Tips to Avoid Scams

Stay Alert: Protect Yourself to Avoid Scams and Keep Your Information Safe

Scams are becoming more sophisticated, targeting people from all walks of life. At People Driven Credit Union, we want you to know that anyone can fall victim to a scam, and it’s crucial to stay informed and vigilant. While we may not always be able to recover funds lost to scammers, we are here to provide resources to help you take action and safeguard your information.

Common Tactics Scammers Use

Scammers often impersonate trusted organizations like banks, retailers, or government agencies. Here are some common scenarios to watch out for:

• • Fraudulent Activity Alerts: You may receive an email, call, or text claiming unauthorized activity on your account and urging you to verify your information.
  • Requests for Personal Data: Scammers may ask for sensitive information such as passwords, account numbers, or One-Time Passwords (OTPs).
  • Urgent Payment Demands: They may pressure you to pay fees or fines immediately via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.

Essential Tips to Avoid Scams

Scammers are not slowing down. They are getting more sophisticated, more targeted, and harder to spot. The good news is that most scams rely on the same handful of tactics, and knowing what to look for puts you in a much stronger position to protect yourself and your finances.

How Scammers Get Your Attention

Most scams start with one of three approaches. An unsolicited phone call, text, or email that appears to come from a trusted source like Amazon, your bank, a government agency, or a subscription service. A message that creates urgency, fear, or excitement to make you act before you think. And an offer or request that asks you to click a link, provide personal information, or make a payment.

The details change constantly. The underlying structure almost never does.

How to Protect Yourself

Be Skeptical of Unsolicited Requests

Legitimate companies including Amazon, your bank, and government agencies will never ask for your password, PIN, Social Security number, or one-time passcode by phone, text, or email. People Driven Credit Union will never contact you and ask for this information. If someone claiming to be PDCU asks for it, hang up and call us directly at 844-700-7328.

Verify the Source Before You Respond

Check the sender’s email address or the number a text came from before you respond or click anything. Scammers use addresses and numbers designed to look like the real thing. A single extra letter, a hyphen, or a slightly different domain is all it takes to make a fake address look convincing at first glance. Take an extra second to look carefully.

Go Directly to the Source

If you receive a suspicious message about your account, do not click any links in it. Open a new browser tab and type the company’s official web address yourself, or use their official app. This one habit eliminates the risk of being redirected to a spoofed site designed to steal your login credentials or payment information.

Monitor Your Accounts Regularly

Review your PDCU account transactions at least once a week. Look for any charges you do not recognize, even small ones. Fraudsters often test a stolen card or account with a small transaction before making a larger one. Setting up real-time account alerts through the MyPDCU app means you find out about suspicious activity immediately rather than when you happen to check your statement.

Report Suspicious Activity

If you receive a message impersonating a company, report it. Amazon provides a reporting tool at amazon.com/reportascam. The Federal Trade Commission accepts scam reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Reporting helps authorities track patterns and shut down active scam operations faster.

What to Do If You Have Been Scammed

Being scammed does not mean you did something foolish. These operations are professionally run and deliberately designed to deceive people. What matters most is how quickly you act after it happens.

Contact PDCU Immediately

If your PDCU account information has been compromised, call us right away at 844-700-7328 during business hours. To report a lost or stolen debit card any time call 888-241-2510, available 24 hours a day. While we may not always be able to recover funds, we will work with you to secure your accounts and guide you through the next steps.

Use the BBB Scam Recovery Toolkit

The Better Business Bureau offers a free Scam Recovery Guide Toolkit with practical steps to help you navigate what to do after a scam. It covers how to document what happened, who to contact, and how to protect yourself from follow-up attacks, since scammers often target people who have already been victimized once.

Place a Fraud Alert or Freeze Your Credit

one of the best ways to Avoid Scams and protect your personal information if it was compromised, contact one of the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, to place a fraud alert on your credit file. A fraud alert requires lenders to take extra steps to verify your identity before opening new credit in your name. A credit freeze is a stronger step that prevents new credit from being opened entirely until you lift it.

For more information on how to protect yourself, Avoid Scams and your personal information, visit our fraud alerts page.