Don’t get scammed this summer! Follow these 6 tips to stay safe. 

1. Never pay for a “prize” vacation

If you’re asked to pay a small fee to claim a free vacation prize, you’re looking at a scam. A legitimate company will never ask winners to do that.

2. Use a credit card when traveling

A credit card offers you the most protection in case something goes wrong. You’ll be able to dispute unauthorized charges, and in most cases, reclaim your lost funds. Some cards even offer certain travel perks that help your trip go off without a hitch.

Did you know: Text messaging has come under attack as one of the most vulnerable media for identity theft and more. Here’s what you need to know about an SMS message-based scam called “smishing.”

How it works

Smishing scams use text messages to establish contact with the intended victim to later access their personal information.

Recently there has been an uptick in scams involving McAfee. In this scam, there is an email purported to be from McAfee, which is a well-known leader in online protection. The email involves the following:

July is National Military Consumer Month. It’s a month where the Federal Trade Commission focuses on helping military Service Members, Veterans and their families learn about key consumer protections they need to be successful. For the second year, the FTC is focusing Military Consumer Month on imposter scams. The goal is to help military personnel understand imposter scams and the steps they can take to avoid them. But in reality, everyone can use this advice to avoid getting scammed.

January is prime time to get into shape.

This year, in particular, many Americans are struggling to shed the “quarantine 15,” or the pounds packed on during all those months when life happened over Zoom and nobody saw what you were wearing below the waist. In fact, the snack company that brings us Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers reports that sales have increased by more than 16% since 2019. And hard as it may be to believe, at some point in the future, it will no longer be socially acceptable to attend a business meeting, a friend’s formal dinner party, or your sister’s wedding while wearing sweatpants.

Unfortunately, scammers know this as well as anyone, and they are out in full force, trying to scam consumers with bogus weight-loss products, miracle drugs, and more. Gyms aren’t far behind, with many of them offering misleading contracts that are impossible to get out of once they’re signed.

Don’t get scammed! Lose the pounds you’re looking to shed this winter — not your money.

Here’s what you need to know about weight-loss scams and how to avoid them.

The increase in crimes targeting the U.S. Postal Service has raised concerns among experts, urging Americans to reconsider sending their checks through the mail. According to the USPS, there has been a surge in attacks on letter carriers and incidents of mail fraud. In the first half of fiscal year 2023, 305 mail carriers were robbed, on track to surpass the previous year's total of 412 robberies. Additionally, criminals are targeting mailboxes, stealing letters directly from homes or from the blue USPS collection boxes.

• Your Credit Union will never ask for your account number via phone. If you are uncomfortable with the caller, you can call the Credit Union directly and verify any information. In addition, if you are told your account was taken over, you should call the Credit Union directly and ask for assistance.

Government impostor scams decreased in 2021 after peaking during the pandemic, but scam victims still lost twice as much money that year to fake government agents, according to new research from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

With government impostor scams, someone claims they’re with a government agency so they can swindle money or personal information from unsuspecting victims.

With the sun setting by 6 pm since we fell back for Daylight Saving Time, it’s more important than ever to brush up on ATM safety. Using a compromised ATM can mean risking identity theft and/or having cash stolen.

Here are tips to help you keep your ATM transactions secure. 

With the rise in job seekers looking for remote job opportunities, the chances for job seeker scams have increased. Scammers are taking advantage of the vulnerability of job seekers and presenting them with options that are too good to be true. Below are some common red flags to look for when presented with a new job opportunity:

Phone call spoofing scams are becoming increasingly common and can be difficult to detect. In these scams, the caller ID is manipulated to make it appear as though the call is coming from a trusted source, such as a bank or government agency. The scammers will then try to trick the victim into providing sensitive information, such as their social security number, credit card number, or bank account information.

To avoid falling victim to a phone call spoofing scam and identity theft, here are some things from We Florida Financial to look out for:

As technology advances, so too do the methods used by scammers to target unsuspecting victims. With this in mind, it is important to stay informed of new phone scam tactics.

Scammers are always dreaming up new ways to con people out of their money. Recently, they’ve figured out a “quick” way by hijacking QR codes. Here’s what to know about QR code scams and how to avoid them. 

Democracy is a privilege and a responsibility that is upheld in this great country by the election process. Unfortunately, though, scammers are out to hijack this process and wreak havoc throughout election season with various ruses and schemes. Here are three scams to watch out for this time of year.

Quick, convenient and clutter-free, Electronic Statements are the way to secure your checking and savings account info.

Your We Florida Financial E-Statements work similarly to paper bank statements, except for the fact that they’re delivered electronically. At the end of each statement period, you’ll get an email from your credit union informing you that your E-Statement is ready to view through online banking, the mobile banking app or another secure digital means. Once you access the E-Statement, you’ll find it has all the information you’re used to getting with your paper statements. You can also access your E-Statement by logging into your online banking site or mobile banking app at any time throughout the month. Signing up for E-Statements is easy easy for South Florida members using our Online Banking online system.

Here are six reasons to consider switching to E-Statements.

Tax season is stressful enough without adding vulnerability to identity theft to your list of things to worry about. To keep your sensitive personal information safe, however, you should be a little worried, though – or at least alert and informed enough to know a tax scam when you see one.
Tax scammers have several common tricks they use to lure taxpayers into handing over personal information that can be used for identity theft. Knowing what to look for is key to avoiding tax scams this tax season.

Produced by Ann Davidson, VP of Risk Consulting at Allied Solutions

As the holidays approach, credit union employees and members must become increasingly aware of scams and identity theft and other forms of fraud. Combating fraud is easy when the credit union and member are fully aware of the types of scams and how to avoid them.

How to Avoid Romance Scams

In the “good old days,” one would meet a spouse/or significant other, the old fashioned way, face-to face, at a party, church, blind date, et cetera. Today, these in-person rituals have gone the way of the dinosaur, replaced by dating apps and sites. And whereas these types of interactions may provide access to more potential partners, they also present more danger. The current pandemic has worsened the situation because it has caused more isolation and loneliness. With people looking for love, more heartless opportunists have pounced on the vulnerable. General online fraud has increased and so has what is known as romance scams. 

With more of our elders becoming targets of scammers, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime instituted the National Elder Abuse Fraud Hotline for people to report fraud against anyone age 60 or older.

A 2020 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report says the most money lost in scams by older adults in 2019 were romance scams. Older adults reported aggregate losses of nearly $84 million on romance scams in 2019.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime website, many are too embarrassed or afraid to report the crimes, so many go unreported and victims suffer alone.

The toll-free number of the National Elder Fraud Hotline is 833–FRAUD–11 or 833–372–8311.