Fraud Protection
Ditch the Pitch: A Guide for Guarding Against Scams
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs is committed to helping educate consumer about the evolving ways that scammers are perpetrating financial crimes. Make sure to click on the button(s) below to check out their guide to guarding against scams. It's free to download and full of tips to stay ahead of fraudsters and scams!
Credit Union Impersonation Scams are on the Rise
Credit Union members must stay alert to the latest attempts by scammers to access personal financial data. Some of our members have recently received phone calls and texts from fraudsters posing as credit union employees. Fraudsters spoof credit union phone numbers and email addresses and use pieces of personally identifiable information to gain members' trust before stealing account funds.
What is a Credit Union Impersonation Scam?
Fraudsters use spoofing techniques to make it appear as though the communication is from the institution so they can:
- Steal your debit card information
- Bypass security protections and access your account online; and
- Solicit funds for fake payments
Credit Union Impersonation Scam Scenarios
A scammer will do everything they can to appear as if they are a real credit union employee attempting to assist you with your account.
Current Reported Fraud
SRP has seen an increase in spoofed counterfeit emails that appear to come from SRP Federal Credit Union notifying members that their accounts have been inactive and disabled. The email or message will state you have a certain amount of time to restore your account and will encourage you to click a link. THIS IS A SCAM. If you receive this email or any other communication that is out of the normal SRP communication, please contact us at 803-278-4851.
Fraud Industry Trends
There has been an increase in websites that are being spoofed (fake websites that look authentic) and sent to end users, asking them to log in with their Online Banking credentials. Scammers would then retrieve the user's real username and password and may potentially log in and defraud the user and their financial institution.
Make sure you only log in to SRP Online Banking or SRP Mobile through the link provided by SRP Federal Credit Union or those saved as bookmarks on your browser(s). If you do find out that our site has been spoofed, add-on services are available to help you remove the phishing site.
There are other phishing campaigns that include asking users to download a fake Windows application to their computers which is then used for malicious purposes. We want to remind you that SRP Federal Credit Union will never ask you to download additional applications or software to your computer.
Security Reminder
SRP Federal Credit Union will NEVER solicit you for personal information via e-mail, text, or telephone. This includes your account numbers, full card information, online and mobile banking usernames and passwords, PIN numbers, etc.
SRP Federal Credit may contact you if we suspect fraud on your account. We will send an email, text, and/or a call for you to verify purchases. We will NEVER ask for personal information. If you are contacted and have been asked for any information outside of purchase verification, do NOT provide any account information or personal data as this may be a scam.
Fraudsters have the ability to spoof telephone numbers. While a call or text may appear to be from SRP Federal Credit Union, it may be a scammer calling you to gather personal information about your accounts.
Lost or Stolen Cards
Lost or Stolen SRP Visa Debit Cards, Visa Credit Cards, or Checkbook
What You Need to Know
If you have discovered that your SRP Visa Debit Cards or Visa Credit Cards have been lost or stolen, you must inform the credit union immediately. This is to limit any fraudulent activity that may occur to your account.
If you believe you have lost your checkbook, or any individual blank checks, you should also report this immediately to the credit union, and put a stop on these checks. If you are unsure of the exact check number(s) or range of check numbers, you may need to close the account and open a new one.
During SRP business hours (Monday and Tuesday, 8:30 am - 5:30 pm; Wednesday, 8:30 am - noon; Thursday and Friday, 8:30 am - 6 pm) you may call us directly at: 803-278-4851
After hours, please call the appropriate number:
For Visa Debit Cards - 866-559-4717
For Visa Credit Cards - 800-449-7728 (Outside the US and Canada - 727-299-2449 collect)
Be sure to login to SRP Online to monitor your account for any unauthorized transactions.
If there are fraudulent charges made to your account, please come by any of our branches to fill out the necessary fraud report papers. We want to help you so please report any suspicious behavior as soon as possible.
