Fraud Prevention Center

Fight Fraud with SCCU

Being your financial watchdog is about always protecting your financial interests. That includes watching out for any fraudulent activity with your account. Remember, SCCU will never solicit personal or account information through phone, text, email, or other means that a member did not first initiate.

Fraud Alert!

These text message and email screenshots include a link to a fraudulent website.

If you receive a text message or email that you did not expect, please visit SCCU.com or the SCCU Mobile app directly instead of clicking on a suspicious link. When in doubt, don't click the link.

Call 800-447-7228 for additional assistance if you did click the link.

Fraudulent Text Message

Fraudulent Email

Keeping Your Accounts Safe Starts at SCCU

2Way Text Fraud Alerts
Notifies SCCU members with real-time text message alerts immediately upon detecting possible fraudulent account activity.

Visa® Zero Liability Protection
Reimburses unauthorized Visa® debit or credit transactions

without holding you responsible. Shop with confidence!

Card Controls App
Gives you the ability to turn off your Visa® credit or debit cards remotely if they’re lost or stolen to prevent fraudulent transactions.

Contactless Cards
Get all the dynamic security protection of chip cards with the ease of making in-store purchases instantly with just one tap.

Online Banking
Reduce the chances of identity theft by opting to keep statements only in your Online Banking account and out of your mailbox.

Quick Tips to Help Fight Fraud

Keep Your Contact Information with Us Up-to-Date

Make sure we have your most up-to-date contact information, including a mobile number, so we can contact you immediately regarding suspicious transaction activity and ensure important credit union correspondence won’t end up in the wrong hands. You can update your information through Online Banking under Settings. See more of our tips for safeguarding your personal information.

Create Strong Passwords and Change Them Frequently

It's a best practice to create passwords that are at least 8 characters in length with an uppercase character, a lowercase character, numbers, and special characters. Stuck? Start with the first letters of words in a phrase and change out letters for symbols. Then, add numbers.

Example: “Back to the Drawing Board” > Bttdb > Bt^db > Bt^db835.

Monitor Your Accounts

Tracking your daily account activity is one of the best ways to be aware of any suspicious transactions as they’re happening. If you suspect fraud, be sure to let us know immediately. You can set up e-statements, balance alerts, transaction alerts, and more in Online Banking and Mobile Banking. In the SCCU Mobile App, you can download Card Controls, a companion app, to have total control of your Visa® debit and credit cards.

Notify Us if You’re Traveling

We never let our guard down when it comes to watching out for our members. If you’re going out of town, be sure to notify us of your trip’s location and timeframe before you leave. This way, you won’t have to deal with the frustration of getting cards declined due to suspicious activity. You can notify us via your Online Banking account or a phone call. We’ll issue a travel memo and unblock your card according to your itinerary.

Use Your Cards with Caution

Before you swipe a card, check that the machine doesn’t show any signs of tampering — especially at gas stations and ATMs. Also, be sure to cover the keypad with your hand as you’re punching in your PIN. You can avoid swiping and PIN punching with Contactless Visa® credit and debit cards, which offer dynamic security protection and daily withdrawal limits.

Recognize Common Scams

Scammers try to swipe information from people by any means necessary. A common scam is saying you won a contest and need your account information or a money order, but a venue would never ask for sensitive information from you. Tax scams are also common, which you can learn about here. Lastly, don't log into accounts while using public Wi-Fi, as fraudsters could hack into your phone and steal sensitive information.

Learn how to stop fraud in its tracks with the infographics below.

You've Been Scammed. Now What?

Take a deep breath, we're here to help you.

Here are next steps to take that will help law enforcement make their cases against the bad guys:

How to Report Fraud on Your Credit Report

Be sure to review credit reports from the three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—for any fraudulent discrepancies. You can review them for free once a year on AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also see your FICO^® score for free in your SCCU Online Banking account.

If you see fraud on your credit report, follow these steps outlined by the FTC:

Call the companies where you know the fraud occurred.
Place a fraud alert on a credit report (that bureau will then request the other two bureaus to do the same).
Report any suspected identity theft to the FTC.
You may choose to file a report with your local law police department.

Want to Learn More?

Check out these helpful articles.

The 11 Most Popular Fraud Scams

Here are the top measures you can take to protect your personal and financial information.

5 Tips for Safeguarding Your Personal Info

Whether it’s card/account fraud or identity theft, we've all heard about or experienced some type of fraud.

How to Prevent Identity Theft While Traveling

Unfortunately, travelers fall victim to identity theft because they’re often in vulnerable situations.