
Scammers and fraudsters are more active than ever, continuously looking for new ways to leverage technology and psychology to access our personal information. At Parsons Federal Credit Union, we are dedicated to keeping you, our members, safe from any fraudulent activity. This page has a collection of useful information and trusted links to help you identify and protect yourself against new and ongoing scams and fraudulent activities.
Protecting Yourself and Others
There are several steps you can take to protect yourself and others from fraud and scams.
Criminals and con artists use many scams to target unsuspecting people who have access to money. Consumer scams can happen through phone, mail, e-mail, or the internet. They can occur in person, at home, or at a business.
Here are some tips to protect yourself from scams:
Take a look at other Consumer Financial Protection Bureau questions regarding financial scams or check the FTC’s website to stay up-to-date on the most recent scams.
Pandemic-era Scams
As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, scammers will continue to try to take advantage of you. They might attempt to reach you by phone, email, postal mail, text, or social media. Always be on the alert to protect your money and your identity. Don't share personal information like your bank account number, Social Security number, or date of birth.
Common Pandemic-era Scams
The first thing you need to do is to resist the temptation to post a photo of your vaccination card online, anywhere! Scammers look for vaccination cards on social media platforms and anywhere else they can access them. Vaccination cards allow them to steal your name, birth date, and other personal information. With this information, they can acquire more details about you and target you as a victim.
Scammers change their methods frequently but here is a list of scams currently out and about:
To learn more about other common scams as reported by the US Government, click here.
Computer Takeover Scams
To avoid falling victim to a new wave of ongoing phone and internet scams known as “Computer Takeover Scams”, please do not provide any banking or personal information, including your Parsons FCU account or routing numbers, to anyone contacting you via phone or email.
Scammers, posing as representatives of well-known companies, will contact you about a refund or a credit balance or, in some cases, a pop-up will appear on your screen alerting you to contact tech support about issues with your computer or online access. The scammers will then persuade you to provide your account and routing information, or attempt to gain remote control of your online banking access and locking you out. Be alert and refuse to share any information with these solicitors.
As a general rule, unless you initiate a call or send an email to a business or person you know, you should avoid providing any information to those who call or email you unsolicited, requesting sensitive or even basic information.
We are here to help you any which way we can. If you are unsure about what you need to do if you think you have been targeted by this new wave of scammers, please contact one of our member service representatives at (800) 765-4527 or email us at mbrserv@parsonsfcu.com. We will make sure your Parsons FCU related security and interests are fully protected.
Reporting Scams
If you suspect you’re a victim of a scam: