Text Fraud

Who Can You Trust? Fraud continues to be rampant. It now includes attacks on your phone!
This Board Brief demonstrates the difference between a text you can trust (KTFCU Falcon Alert) and one you can’t (a Fraudulent Text). Let’s look at the difference.

FALCON ALERT (TRUSTED COMMUNICATION)

• Sender Address – Most legitimate texts from a financial institution like Falcon Alerts (which are tied to your KTFCU credit or debit cards) have a five-digit code (86975 is the example).
• Information Offered – It suspects fraud and is asking you to respond (YES or NO) to a specific situation (the amount of purchase, where purchased and card number last four digits).
• Call to Action – Falcon Alert is asking for confirmation on a purchase you are supposed ot have made (a charge in this case). Before you act, confirm the last four digits of your card to make sure it is accurate.
• Action to Take – Respond to the text either by typing YES (you recognize and made the purchase) or NO (you didn’t). Note, even though a phone number is provided, you should call the number on the back of your credit or debit card if you need to contact the card issuer.

UNSOLICITED TEXT (FRAUDULENT COMMUNICATION)

• Sender Address – Fraudulent texts try to portray a common source that will not cause many to question its authenticity (usps.91739@uspsmarketing.com in this example). Note, the US Postal Service will not send anything that is usps.##### or @uspsmarketing.com. The real tracking tool link for the USPS is https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input.
• Information Offered – The fraudulent text has provided no information except you have a package that they cannot deliver. You don’t know who it is from or what is in the package. You should be thinking, “This is suspicious!”
• Call to Action – The fraudulent text is calling you to click a link (https://usps-trackingship.com) and to enter important personal info (confirm your address in this case) in addition to other requests that are highly suspect (copy link, open in your browser, etc.) All this is to gain access to your personal information or to download malware on your phone.
• Action to Take – IMMEDIATELY DELETE the text. If you have the option, report it as spam.

OUR ADVICE

Be diligent and cautious when using the digital tools. They are important, necessary, and useful in our everyday activities. Whatever your financial need, we’re here to help.