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PHISHING TEXTS & CARD BLOCK ALERTS

A popular ongoing scam is sending bogus notifications via text, stating your debit card has been blocked, or your card limit has been exceeded. These texts will often provide a link or a phone number to call, and may even state the name of your bank, or another local financial institution. The link will send you to a bogus website that may mimic the look of your bank’s real website, and will request you to provide personal and account information so the criminals can get the information they need from you to commit fraud in your name. These bogus websites may also install viruses and malware on your computer or smart phone just by clicking on it.

Likewise, the phone number provided by the phishing texts will be answered by scammers stating they need you to provide your personal and/or banking information. These scammers likely have some of your information, but not enough to actually commit fraud. Their goal is to get you to provide them with the pieces they don’t have, so they can go on to commit fraudulent activity through your account, or initiate various forms of identity theft.

Metro has seen a variety of fraudulent activity occur when these scammers are successful. Everything from using your debit or credit card information to make fraudulent purchases online, to using your personal information to attempt to apply for loans in your name, or gaining access to your online banking to setup external transfers, or linking your account to digital wallets used by the criminals to spend your money.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

• Remember that Metro will never send a link through a text message, and we will never make you verify your personal/account information if we are calling you.
• If you receive one of these texts, do not click a link and do not call the number provided. Instead go to metrofcu.org and call us at our published number.
• If you receive a call from someone stating they are from Metro, and it feels off in any way, inform them you are going to hang up, and call Metro at our published number. A real Metro employee will have no problem with you doing this for your own security. Only a scammer will persistently try to keep you on the line.