We’re stronger together in the fight against fraud, and awareness is our greatest tool. Here are some tips to protect your accounts and personal information against common types of fraud and scams:
Send Payments Safely
- Online shopping? Look for the lock icon or https:// in the web address to confirm the site and connection are secure.
- Never send money to someone you do not know, especially when using third‑party payment apps like Zelle®, Venmo®, Cash App, (etc).
- Always double-check contact info when sending or receiving money with third-party payment apps.
- Beware of fake check scams, in which a person or “company” sends you a check and asks you to send a portion back. It can take a while after funds have cleared for the check to come back as fraudulent, and you’ll be on the hook to pay back your back.
- Fake check scams have adapted to the digital ages — the scammer sends a “deposit” to your payment app like Zelle®or Venmo® and contacts you to send it back because it was a mistake. Always contact the app’s support to correct the issue.
- Know the payor of any check. If you receive a check and are unaware of the payor on the top left corner of the check, it’s most likely fraudulent.
- Legitimate businesses and government entities will never ask for gift cards as a form of payment.
Stay Safe Online
- Use multi-factor authentication, whenever possible.
- Use unique passwords for your different accounts. Once a hacker gets one password, they will try it on different sites.
- Be suspicious of offers that seem too good to be true, as these are often scams. Especially Work offer Ads on Social Media (ex. Mystery Shoppers, Remote Jobs, etc).
- Beware of phishing emails, which try to trick you into handing over your personal information or clicking a link or attachment that will infect your device with malware. Some phishing emails can look convincing but here are some red flags:
- Requests for personal information
- Message creates a sense of urgency
- The “from” email is not official
- Spelling mistakes and/or grammatical errors
- Unsolicited attachments
- Hover your mouse over links to reveal the hyperlink — are the URLs legitimate, or unfamiliar and misleading?
Protect Your Account
- SESLOC will never send an unsolicited text, email, or call asking for one-time verification codes, PINs, passwords, or other personal information. If you should ever receive such a message or call, DO NOT click on any links, or share this information. If you are ever unsure or have any doubts, call us directly at (805) 543-1816.
- Never give anyone your Online Banking Credentials, and be aware that SESLOC will never call to ask you for that information.
- Planning a vacation? Submit a Travel Notice before you leave so we can more accurately identify your transactions versus fraudulent activity.
- Make sure your contact information is up to date — our Fraud Detection and Notification System continually monitors the accounts of our Business and Consumer Visa cardholders to watch for suspicious debit, credit or ATM card activity, and notifies you via text or phone call if fraudulent activity is suspected.
- If you suspect your card is lost or stolen, contact us as soon as possible at (805) 543-1816.
- Make it a habit to review your transaction history for accuracy, and so you can report any suspicious activity to us as soon as possible.
- Set up custom alerts on your account to email or text you when activity occurs. If you have the app downloaded, you can also get alerts as Push Notifications.
