In order to help you protect yourself and detect potential fraud, EdFed would like to share our ABCs of fraud.

A — Always Be Alert

Always keep your ears and eyes open. Fraudsters are relentlessly developing new scams to solicit and obtain your personal, identifiable financial information. EdFed will never contact you for your password. We will not ask you to change your password to one that we provide. Our agents will never ask you for your one-time authorization code received through text. Remain alert and protect your information.

B — Back Away

Use caution whenever you receive a message online, by text, or via phone from unknown contacts. Immediately back away and take note of the details of the message. Fraudsters rely on you volunteering your personal information to help perpetrate fraud.

C — Call the Credit Union

Call EdFed's Loss Prevention Team at 305-270-5252 if you believe a fraudster has contacted you. By sharing your experience with EdFed, we can ensure that your account will be protected and secured.

Phone/Email Scams: Fraudsters may contact you via text, phone, or email, soliciting your account numbers and passwords. They may claim that your account has been compromised and request your personal information to help "protect" your account. These scams often use fear to perpetrate fraud.

IRS/Government Scams: Like other phone/email scams, fraudsters may contact you, claiming they are representatives of the IRS or other government agencies. These scams may attempt to collect funds owed to the federal government and apply pressure to make immediate payments.

Emergency Scams: A fraudster may call or send you a text message pretending to be a family member or friend in an emergency. They may ask you to wire money to help get them out of trouble. These scams typically target parents and grandparents.

Employment Scams: These scams can appear as online job postings or text messages from a "recruiter" looking to fill a position. In an employment scam, the person is not looking to hire. The intention is to solicit your personal information to commit fraud.

Bogus Debts: You may receive a call, email, or text message regarding a past-due bill in an attempt to collect a "debt." If you are a customer of the company being represented on the call, hang up and contact the company's published customer service number to validate the legitimacy of the suggested "debt."

Please contact EdFed's Loss Prevention Team at 305-270-5252 to immediately report any activity as potential fraud.

What is it?

Identity Theft occurs when one person's identification (which can include name, social security number, or any account number) is used by another person for unlawful activities.

How to protect yourself:

View this short identity theft overview video from the Federal Trade Commission.

What to do after you become a victim:

• Follow the guide by the Federal Trade Commission.
• Place a Fraud Alert on your file with all three credit bureaus:
  • Experian, 888-397-3742
  • Equifax, 800-685-1111
  • TransUnion, 800-680-7289
• Seek guidance if you are a victim of IRS fraud.

What is it?

Using your card or card number for fraudulent purchases by unauthorized persons.

How to protect yourself:

• Report lost or stolen EdFed Rewards Visa^® Credit Cards, EdFed Rewards Visa^® Debit Cards or ATM Cards immediately.
• Set up activity alerts/notifications on EdFed 24/SEVEN. Always review your statements.
• If any unusual activity is detected on your credit card, we will contact you to verify that the activity was legitimate. These calls can be made using an automated system. If you are unavailable, a message will be left for you.
• Read more tips at Visa Security Sense.

What to do when you suspect fraud on your card account:

Call our Member Contact Center at any time of day or night.

How to keep your computer safe from being infected:

• Always install security updates from Microsoft on your pc or from Apple on your Mac.
• Always use current browsers, update or replace older browser versions.
• Always use anti-virus software and update it daily.
• Always have a backup of your important files and store it independently from the computer.
• Avoid becoming a victim of phishing.

How to keep your mobile phone or tablet safe from being infected:

• Always install security updates from the provider of the operating system and the apps.
• When possible, enable automatic updates.
• Add antivirus software where possible.
• Only download apps from verified stores.
• When the credit union announces a new app, verify that you download the genuine one. Do not go to the app store first and download any app that looks like it might be from EdFed without verifying on our website that it is genuine.

Best practices when using EdFed 24/SEVEN:

• Establish/manage your preferred profile security settings via Settings > Security.
• Establish/manage your preferred profile alert/notification settings via Settings > Notification.
• Use a strong password (up to 10 characters), that includes numbers and symbols as well.
• Do not share that password with any other site, use a unique one.
• Try to avoid public computers. Using your small screen phone is better than the big screen hotel computer.

What is phishing?

The fraudulent practice of sending emails claiming to be from reputable companies in order to trick individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

What are the consequences of falling for phishing?

Your computer will probably download some bad software. The result ranges from stealing passwords you enter, to stealing information from your computer, to locking all your files and holding them for ransom in what is known as ransomware.

How can I avoid this?

• Be cautious with unknown senders. Avoid opening messages from unfamiliar sources. Confirm the sender's email address for any discrepancies. If you are unsure, it is better to be safe than sorry.
• Investigate urgent requests. If you receive a message urging you to take immediate action by sharing sensitive information, take a moment to verify its authenticity. Reach out to the company directly through a known and verified method to confirm the request.
• Beware of unexpected attachments from unknown senders. Do not open attachments, especially those with unusual file extensions like .ZIP, .JAR, or .JS. These can contain harmful malware that can compromise your security.
• Verify links before clicking. Before clicking on any links in messages, hover over them to ensure that the displayed URL matches the actual destination. Scammers often create fake sites that look identical to legitimate websites. For example, if you are logging into the EdFed 24/SEVEN digital banking platform, verify that the link is 24seven.edfed.org. Any other URL for that platform would be a scam.
• Enable two-factor authentication. This extra layer of security confirms your identity through both login credentials and a unique code sent to your device.

What is elder abuse?

Crimes such as theft, scams or identity theft that are committed against people 65 years or older fall under the elder abuse law.

How to report elder abuse?

Call Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873. Press 1 to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly or a vulnerable adult. The TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf) number is 1-800-453-5145.

You may also go to the DCF Web site for more information.

What is wire fraud?

Wires are transfers of money from one financial institution to another. These transfers are equivalent to paying in cash and not easily reversible. That attracts fraudsters to trick you into wiring money to someone based on false representation or promises, and you lose your money.

How to protect yourself?

Do not accept a check in exchange for wiring money out. Verify the recipient before sending a wire that can't be stopped or reversed. Do not let someone talk you into paying by wire transfer when you can pay with credit card.