Fraud Protection That Shields You from Phishing Scams

When you think about cybercrime, what do you see? 

Is it a hooded person in a dark room, surrounded by computers and blinking lights? A criminal mastermind hacking into the backdoor of a highly sophisticated computer system?

The truth is, it’s much simpler than that. 

Most cybercriminals are regular people. Their job is to trick you into giving them your sensitive information so they can access your finances. 

And reports of cybercrime continue to rise. 

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report 2023, they received a record number of complaints from the American public: 880,418 complaints were registered, with potential losses exceeding $12.5 billion. This is a nearly 10% increase in complaints received, and it represents a 22% increase in losses suffered, compared to 2022.

But you’re not helpless to protect yourself. Let’s talk about how phishing scams work and how you can protect your identity and your financial accounts.

What is a Phishing Scam? 

Let’s talk about fishing (then we’ll talk about phishing). When you’re out fishing, the idea is that you cast your bait into the water and hope to get a bite. 

For scammers, phishing is the same concept. In a phishing scheme, a scammer pretends to be someone you know or trust and tries to trick you into giving them your sensitive information. 

Typically, this will include communication by email, phone or text message. These emails, phone calls and text messages are their bait, and they’re hoping you’ll bite. 

In many cases, it’s a small amount of work with a potentially high payoff, which is why it is far and away the most common type of cybercrime. In 2023, there were 298,878 reported cases of phishing. This was 535% higher than the next highest type. 

How Phishing Scams Work

There are many methods a scammer may use to contact you in a phishing scheme, but the three we’ll focus on here are: 

1. Phone call
2. Email
3. Text message

When they contact you, they will usually tell you there is an urgent issue with your accounts that need immediate attention. They will use this sense of urgency to try to trick you into giving up sensitive information that may include: 

• Your bank account information.
• Your credit or debit card number.
• Your Social Security number.
• Login information for your bank accounts or online shopping accounts.

Once they have this information, they may be able to access your accounts or open new credit accounts in your name. 

Phone Call Phishing Scams

On the phone, a scammer will pretend to be someone you think you can trust. It could be a representative from a store you shop at, your financial institution, etc. Then they’ll try to get you to give them the sensitive information listed above. 

Email Phishing Scams

Email phishing scams may look a little different. Instead of trying to get you to tell them the information verbally, they may try to trick you to give you the information via a fraudulent link. 

For example, the scammer may try to make the email look like it’s from your financial institution. They’ll tell you there’s an urgent issue with your account and provide a link to log in to online banking. 

But the link isn’t really associated with your financial institution. If you click the link and type in your username and password, instead of being logged into online banking, you’ll send your login credentials directly to the scammer.

The scammers could also pretend to be from online retailers like Amazon and steal your login credentials to buy things for themselves. Or they could simply ask for an email reply with the sensitive information. 

Text Phishing Scams

Also known as “Smishing”, text phishing scams look a lot like their email counterparts. The fraudster will tell you there’s an urgent issue with your account and include a fake link to log in. If you provide your username and password at this link, your login credentials will be sent to the scammer. 

Hot Tip: Veridian will never ask you for your online banking username and password, your full bank account number, or your full debit or credit card number via phone, email or text.

A False Sense of Urgency

You may be noticing a common theme to the phishing tactics above: a sense of urgency. 

A scammer will try to rush you into giving them your sensitive information by making you think there is an urgent matter that needs your immediate attention. Even if something feels urgent, the best thing you can do is take a breath and consider the request before responding. 

Tips for Fighting Fraud

There are many ways to protect yourself and your financial accounts from fraudulent activity. Here are some of our favorite tips to get you started: 

• Be wary of emails from senders you don’t know – and don’t open attachments you aren’t expecting.
• Don’t click links in suspicious emails, especially if they claim there’s a problem with your account or ask you to reset your password out of the blue. Go to the site in question by searching for it or typing the URL directly.
• Never give your password, account information or personal information to someone who calls you, even for identification purposes. If they initiate the call, they must prove who they are, not the other way around.
• Use a password manager to generate strong unique passwords for each site you visit.
• Keep your devices more secure by installing updates and patches in a timely manner.
• Research organizations before doing business with them – start with an online search for the group’s name plus “fraud.” Legitimate operations are rarely based out of P.O. boxes.
• Check your statements regularly for charges you don’t recognize.
• No legitimate business will ever ask you to pay them with gift cards. If you are told to go and buy gift cards, this is a scam.
• Set up multi-factor authentication for online accounts that offer it. When you log in, you’ll be asked to verify yourself via text message or email.
• Set up alerts in online banking. You can receive notifications for a variety of instances, such as transactions over a certain dollar amount, suspicious transactions, or even when someone logs into your online banking account.

What To Do If You’re Impacted by Fraud

If you believe you are a victim of fraud, or if you have clicked on a suspicious link from a potential scammer, follow these instructions. 

1. Change Your Username and Password

If you clicked a link, but didn’t provide any information, change your username and password for all impacted accounts. Continue to monitor your transactions for possible fraudulent activity.

2. Contact Your Financial Institution

If you clicked a link and provided personal account information, contact your financial institution immediately. They will review your account and advise you on your next steps.

3. Stay In the Loop

If your financial institution has restricted your accounts in any way due to confirmed fraudulent activity, stay in contact with them. They will continue to monitor the situation and help you regain access to your accounts.

4. Freeze Your Credit 

By freezing your credit with all three credit bureaus, you can limit access to your credit report and prevent creditors from opening new accounts. You'll need to submit a request to each credit bureau (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) to freeze your credit. Get more details about requesting or lifting a credit freeze from USAGov. 

Bonus Tip: If you’re a Veridian member who has been impacted by fraud, continue monitoring your credit activity in Credit Central. You may access this by logging into your Veridian online banking account. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Fraud Protection

Final Thoughts: Fight The Fraudsters

Fraud continues to be a major issue for regular people around the world. But with a little preparation, you can meet the fraudsters head on and stop them in their tracks. 

If you suspect you’ve been the victim of a scam, live chat or call Veridian at (800) 235-3228 immediately. You can also report it to your state attorney general and the Federal Communications Commission.  

You can also get more tips for preventing fraud at our Fraud Prevention Tips & Reporting center online. 

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