Protect Yourself Against Fraud

Protecting your financial identity is crucial. Together with your Credit Union, you can take steps to prevent and detect identity theft and fraud. The most important step toward protecting yourself is to never give out account information to anyone who comes asking for it. Calcasieu Teachers & Employees Credit Union does not call, text, or send emails asking for account information. Remember – we already have it!

DEBIT CARD DATA BREACHES

If you think you may have been impacted by an unauthorized debit card data breach from a retailer or any other institution you do business with, there are a few simple things you can do to protect yourself. Keep an eye on your account through online banking or monthly statements to watch for any unusual activity. You can even set up alerts that will notify you if account balances or transaction amounts exceed certain thresholds you set. If you notice anything suspicious or unusual on your credit union accounts, please notify the Credit Union immediately for assistance by calling 337.433.4525. If desired, the Credit Union can close your debit card and reissue a new one for you. You should also report fraud or identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission and local law enforcement.

If you suspect that your card has been breached, it is recommended that you change your PIN as an added measure of security. To help protect your account information, consider periodically changing your PIN quarterly or annually.

Calcasieu Teachers & Employees Credit Union will never call you asking for your card number, PIN, or other card information in the case of a debit card data breach. As always, if you ever question the legitimacy of a call from the Credit Union, please hang up and call 337.433.4525.

AI ACCOUNT TAKEOVER

AI-powered account takeover scams are becoming more problematic because they are so convincing. Scammers use artificial intelligence to craft messages, phone calls, and even fake websites that look and sound completely legitimate. If you're not watching closely, it's easy to get fooled.

How It Happens

These scams move fast — often in just minutes. Here's the typical attack:
You receive a spoofed call that appears to come from CTECU or another trusted source.
You're directed to a fraudulent website designed to look like the real thing.
You enter your login credentials, which are captured immediately by criminals.
Fraudsters request and intercept any one-time passcodes sent to your phone or email.
Criminals log in, change your contact information, and seize full control of your account — all within minutes.

By the time you realize something is wrong, they're already in.

What to Watch For

Unexpected calls, texts, or emails claiming there's a problem with your account
Pressure to act immediately or verify your information
Links to websites with slightly misspelled URLs or unfamiliar addresses
Requests for one-time passcodes — CTECU will never ask you for these
Notifications about changes to your account that you didn't make

If you notice any unexpected changes to your account, call us immediately at (337)433-4525.

PREVENT IDENTITY THEFT

An excellent way to detect fraudulent activity is to keep a close eye on your accounts, such as by using the Credit Union’s online banking to watch your accounts on a daily basis. You should also take advantage of your free annual credit report check, which gives an overview of your credit accounts from all financial institutions.

Free credit reports are available under Federal law at AnnualCreditReport.com. To receive your free annual credit report, you can:

Visit Free Credit Report
Call toll free 877.322.8228

There are several other precautions you can take to protect yourself against identity theft. These government websites provide precautions, tips, and advice on protecting yourself online, while on the telephone, or by mail.

By using these tips, you’ll be well on your way toward protecting your financial identity.

SOCIAL ENGINEERING

Those looking to misuse your account information will often disguise themselves as Credit Union, or any other financial institution, and then ask you to “verify” your account information by sending them confidential information. These “social engineers” also search dumpsters for valuable information, memorize access codes by looking over someone’s shoulder (shoulder surfing), or take advantage of people’s natural inclination to choose passwords that are meaningful to them but can be easily guessed. Some examples of social engineering techniques include the following:

Phishing – Phishing uses emails that appear to originate from a trusted source (such as a financial institution) to trick users into entering information on a fake web page.
Vishing – This technique uses an interactive voice response (IVR) system to recreate a legitimate-sounding copy of a financial institution’s IVR system. The victim is prompted to “verify” various financial information. More advanced systems transfer the victim to the attacker, posing as a customer service agent, for further questioning.
Smishing – The victim receives a text message telling them to call a toll-free number, which is answered by a bogus interactive voice-response system that tries to fool the victim into providing his or her account number and password.
Baiting – An attacker will leave a software-infected computer disk or USB flash drive in a location such as a bathroom, elevator, or parking lot. The attacker gives it a legitimate looking label and name, and then simply waits for the victim to use the device. Baiting can also take the form of an App for your mobile phone. These Apps are designed to look and feel legitimate.