A woman checks her phone before deciding whether to answer a spam call

Avoid Phone Scams

Scams via telephone and text are rising at an alarming rate. Protect yourself from voice phishing and fraud by following some of these steps!

The Basics

 
  • Keep all of your personal information and any passwords or passcodes private during a phone call, especially if the call is unplanned or from an unknown number.
  • Commonwealth Credit Union will never request detailed personal information over a phone or text conversation.
  • Scammers tend to impersonate banks, credit unions, the government, or other very well-known or respected establishments and companies.
  • If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud or identity theft due to scammers, give us a call at 800.228.6420.

Phone Phishing

If you're the type of person who picks their home or cell phone up without checking a caller ID, you're not alone. Lately, with phone scams on the rise, scammers rely on the trust that a member has with their financial institution to gain personal information and therefore access to a user's account. Please be aware that many experienced scammers have the ability to alter the caller ID so that it appears the call could be coming from your financial institution or other well-known businesses and companies you may use regularly. Scammers impersonate these companies or businesses and leave messages or "fish" for information from those unlucky enough to pick up.
 

Protect Yourself

Should you receive a call that claims you've been a victim of fraud and the caller needs your personal information to unlock or protect your account, hang up and call us directly instead. If a caller claims that you need to download a third-party app, asks you to verify your personal information from a sketchy number, or claims to have a prize to send you, it's always a good bet to assume it's a scam call.
 
  • Remember: their goal is to get as much information out of you as possible, so avoid letting them pressure you into giving away your account number, zip code, or any personal information..
  • If you're unsure whether the call is actually from Commonwealth Credit Union, the best bet is always to hang up and then call us directly.
  • We will never ask you for payments over the phone, nor will we reach out for your account number, PIN, or any other information that should be kept private to you.
  • If you receive a call that seems fishy, ignore the call so that it sends to your voicemail or answering machine. Many cell phones also allow for blocking of numbers, so if you've determined the number to indeed be a scam, block away!