Avoiding Fraud and Scams

Scams may involve fake websites, fraudulent email addresses or phone numbers that look legitimate (called spoofing), or official-looking text messages (called smishing or SMS phishing). Some scams are simply emails sent to a mass number of people to try to get some to click and provide information (called phishing). These may look legitimate on the surface, but there are ways to ensure you are interacting with the correct person or business.

Before you work with, or make a purchase from, a company you aren't familiar with, verify the company is legitimate: 

• Using the company name and “review” or “scam” in an internet search will bring up results where those terms may have been used together. If this happens, it's a good rule of thumb to avoid doing business with them. 
• Locate the physical address of the company and use Google Street View to see if the business is at that address. 
• Use the Better Business Bureau's Scam Tracker to search the phone number, company name, email address, or what they are asking you to do. This database is populated by submissions of consumers and you can see who has had poor results.
• Prior to making a purchase online, ensure the site is secure. A secure site starts with https and not simply http. Without that "s", your card information may not be safe. 
• If you decide to make an online purchase with a new company, use a credit card, not a debit card. Or, even better, use a prepaid Visa® card so that if fraudulent activity were to occur, it will not affect your finances and will be limited to the funds on the prepaid card. We offer Visa prepaid cards at all of our branch locations. 

Has someone contacted you via phone, email, or text from a company you recognize, but the behavior does not seem "quite right"?

• Visit the company's website and locate a phone number to call them back directly. Do not redial the number that called you as that may be a "spoofed" number. 
• Never click links within the a text message or email from which you don't know the sender personally, or did not initiate contact. This link may download tracking software called malware or spyware to your device, or may bring you to a page that encourages you to provide personal information to a criminal. 

If someone is requesting you make a payment by purchasing gift cards for them, it may be a scam.

Gift cards work just like cash, making them a perfect method for scammers to get money from you. Never send gift card codes to strangers, someone asking for a gift card for a payment, or even to anyone claiming to be someone you know who is in an unusual urgent situation. If this occurs, contact them directly to check on them to be sure they are making the request of you.

Scammers may even use tactics to make you feel comfortable talking to them online, befriending you (called social engineering), but then may become agitated if you start asking questions. If any request makes you uncomfortable, stop communication. Instead, find a direct contact number through a trusted source like a website — never just hit redial from the from the suspicious call or request.

Scammers who steal financial information may use this information to make fraudulent charges, open new accounts, commit tax fraud, identity theft, or other harmful actions. By reviewing your statements or logging into online banking regularly, you can detect unfamiliar activity quickly, report it, and stop more from occurring.

If you see any unknown charges on your First Northern account(s), notify us right away and we can help secure your card(s) and account(s). 

Federal law allows you to obtain a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each credit reporting company. This may help you to identify cases of identity theft where accounts have been opened in your name without your knowledge. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com to take advantage of this service. (Note: this is the only government-authorized website to provide this service free-of-charge.)

Our partner BALANCE also offers our members a credit report review service, free of charge. Find more information about this service and more here. 

During times of crisis or holidays that evoke emotional responses, scammers may try to take advantage of the generosity of others. 

Before donating to a charity you have never heard of, do some research at Charity Navigator to ensure your donations will be directed to a legitimate organization. 

Find additional tips to donate safely at https://www.ftc.gov/charityfraud.

Being pitched a low-risk, high-return investment opportunity by someone you’re not familiar with is a sign for you to do more research. These offers may insist on you acting now, promise big profits, assure you that you will have little or no financial risk, or demand you send cash immediately.

If you determine that you have fallen victim to one of these investment opportunities, immediately file a report with the Federal Trade Commission.

Scammers may approach their targets with "too-good-to-be true" opportunities for employment, a loan, inheritance, or another valuable service. Prior to receiving anything, an upfront fee may be requested for processing, permits, or other miscellaneous expenses. 

Before you pay any fees in advance, ensure the offer is legitimate by doing your own research or consulting a legal professional. 

Receiving messages that claim you've won a large amount of money or an impressive prize may appear fantastic. However, if the providers of this "prize" request that you pay fees, taxes, or custom duties — which might sound legitimate and tempting — it may not be winning after all.

If you need to pay for a prize, you may not have won anything. Regardless of how convincing an offer is, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is. Spend some time to do your research before claiming your "winnings". 

Oops! You got a check and they accidently sent you too much, and want you to send only some of it back to them? Don't do it!

Scammers may send you a check for too much money, claim it was an accident, and then request that you send a portion back to them via check, cash, wire transfer, or even gift card. This is likely a scam. These scams could be framed as mystery shopping, testing a service, winning a prize, a purchase, or even a charitable donation.

If this occurs, instead of depositing it, send the check back to them and ask for it in the correct amount. Chances are, they will go away because the check was not good. 

If you have already deposited the check and the funds are in your account, stop! You still may not be safe. Financial institutions make funds available from deposited checks within a few days per their funds availability policy, but determining if a check is fraudulent may take weeks. If a check turns out to be fraudulent we will remove the deposited funds from your account — and you've lost that money. 

Contact us at 888-328-8677 if you have fallen victim to this scam, and we will work with you to determine when and if the funds become officially available. 

A request for personal or financial information may come via email (called phishing), text message (called smishing or SMS phishing), website link, advertisement, pop-up window, or phone call (called vishing or voice phishing). However, you should treat your personal and financial information as if it was cash. Don’t give it to just anyone, and once you give it away, you may never take it back.

If someone is asking you for account numbers, online banking credentials, PIN, text message confirmation codes, or any personal data, use the phone number on the back of your credit card, monthly statement, or call us at 888-328-8677. We'll determine what information you may have provided and will help to secure your account(s) if needed. 

If you get a phone call or a pop-up on your computer or phone that claims your device has been infected, proceed with caution. You may have clicked on something that has installed a virus, spyware, or malware on your device.

First, determine if this pop-up is coming from your anti-virus software. If so, that is great! Follow their directions for cleaning your device. 

If not, it may be a scammer offering to "help" fix a problem that you don't even have, with their goal being to access any and all information on your device. Accepting a request to log in to your device remotely can expose any login information, passwords, and private information you have on your device. In some cases, they can install software that renders your device and information unusable unless you pay a "ransom" (called ransomware).

Unprompted attempts for this level of access are almost certainly a scam.

If you encounter this situation, end the discussion, do not click on any links, and run your anti-virus software. 

• Additional information from Microsoft about these scams can be found here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/protect-yourself-from-tech-support-scams-2ebf91bd-f94c-2a8a-e541-f5c800d18435
• Additional information from Apple about these scams can be found here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102568