Fraudsters are leveraging news coverage and fear surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) to scam consumers and businesses.
Watch out for calls, texts, emails, social media posts, or ads offering vaccines, products, or medical tips in exchange for your information, money, or clicks.
Messages may appear to be from legitimate sources like the CDC Health Alert Network, the World Health Organization (WHO), or other government institutions, but may be scams.
DO NOT provide anyone information that is urging you to divulge personal financial details, such as:
- Personal Information
- Account numbers
- Debit/credit card number
- PIN numbers or passwords
- Online banking credentials
Beacon Federal Credit Union will NEVER call you, text you, or send you an email asking for personal information.
If you receive a message via a phone call, text or email asking for this information, DO NOT respond, hang up and contact us at (281) 471-1782.
“Spoofed” Phone Numbers
Fraudsters can “spoof” a phone number to make it look like they are calling from the credit union. DO NOT rely on caller ID to ensure the credit union is calling you
Phishing Emails
Don’t click on links from sources you don’t know. Phishing emails will use the virus as a lure in the subject line to entice you to open it. The email message may contain false information about the COVID-19. Some emails will claim to be from the CDC or WHO but contain malicious attachments or links to websites that will download a virus or malware on your computer to steal personal data.
The best practice in avoiding scams and hackers is to not click on any links in emails you were not expecting, or you did not request. Just delete the email.