Fraud Alert: Online Retailer Scam
With online shopping becoming increasingly popular for people this year, the Better Business Bureau warns that scammers are using the name of popular retail companies to steal individual’s money and information. The “2020 BBB Scam Trackers Risk Report” found that online purchase scams made up 38.3% of all reported scams. In 2020, scams using online payment systems spiked, while scams using prepaid cards and wire transfers decreased. Amazon has become the second most impersonated brand by scammers and individuals ages 18-54 had the highest risk of online purchase scams.
The scammers conduct phishing phone calls to get consumers to provide personal information so they can then gain access to their computers. In a recent example, the caller said they were from a large e-commerce retailer and that the customer’s account was erroneously charged. The scammer proceeded to tell the customer that they needed access to their online banking account to reverse the charge.
If you have been contacted by someone pretending to be from a popular online retailer, please don’t give any personal information over the phone. Be wary of ANYONE who asks you for information by phone or text. If you think it may be valid, hang up and contact the company directly to verify before going any further. They’ll be able to confirm if you were actually contacted.
Protecting our members’ information is TEG FCU’s highest priority. Always remember, TEG FCU will never request sensitive information by phone or text. In the event you’ve already given your information to a suspicious person posing as someone or you believe your account information has been compromised, please contact our Solution Center at 845.452.7323.