Recently there has been an increase in scams involving fraudulent text messages and phone calls <u>posing as the fraud department</u> at the victim’s financial institution. They will often claim there is a fraudulent charge about to post to your account and that you must provide your card number and even your personal information to stop the transaction. These text messages typically include a malicious link to a website which looks like your financial institution in an attempt to collect your online banking credentials. The messages might also solicit a text response, then the victim is quickly called by a fictitious “financial institution representative”.

Alternatively, they may ask that you withdraw all of the funds from your account in cash and deposit them into a cryptocurrency ATM, mail the funds off, or even hand them over in person! In some cases, they will conduct follow-up phone calls or messages <u>posing as law enforcement</u> to scare the victim into sending them their information or money.

Please avoid providing any sensitive information to someone calling you or messaging you claiming to be from your financial institution or law enforcement. LFCU will never call you to have you withdraw all of your funds, to obtain your card number, or ask you to utilize a cryptocurrency ATM. Always contact your financial institution at a known good number to ensure the communication is legitimate before proceeding.