Have You Been a Victim?

Have you been a victim of financial fraud or abuse?

Never let a stranger ask you to transfer money to a third-party app like CashApp, Venmo, or Zelle. Scams by telemarketers, computer and internet scams, IRS Scams, reverse mortgage fraud, identity theft and home improvement scams are becoming more and more common.

Brazos Star will never call you and ask you for personal information or ask you to transfer money to keep your money safe. Help us help you keep your account protected. Sign up for Online Banking, text messaging on accounts and email notifications.

For more information on these scams and how to avoid them, stop by the credit union and pick up a copy of Money Smart, Resource Guide for Older Adults. This booklet contains great information, no matter how old you are!

We value your membership in Brazos Star Credit Union. We are committed to your account safety and security.

Your security is Brazos Star Credit Union’s top priority. Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to defend yourself against fraud. Scammers are always finding new ways to steal money. The most common ways are impersonating someone you know or your financial institution through phone calls, texts, and emails. Understand how to protect you and your money from scams.

Phone Scams

Phone scams, also known as spoofing have been increasing as more and more people use cell phone as their main source of comunication. Spoofing is when a scammer disguises their phone number to seem like they are calling from a local line or trusted source, like your financial institution. Brazos Star will contact you from time to time, but we will never ask you to provide or verify your:

• PIN number
• Password information
• Online Banking Username
• Debit card number
• Full social security number

While you may contact us, and we will confirm information, we will never call you and ask you for information. If you receive a call from Brazos Star and you have any concerns at all, hang up and call us directly at 979-846-7456 to verify that someone from the credit union did in fact contact you.

Text and Email Scams

Scammers may also try to gain access to your information via text or email. These emails and text will contain fraudulent links that will encourage you to share vital personal information, like usernames, passwords, and account details. These communications often look like legitimate email addresses or text you already to business with. Common signs of email or text scams include:

• The text or email comes from a number or email you don’t recognize
• The communication uses generic greetings, like “Dear customer”
• There are misspelled words in the email or its URLs; there are numbers used instead of letters
• The email creates a sense of urgency to try to get you to take quick action or payment
• The communication asks for sensitive information, like account or log in information

If you receive a text or email from Brazos Star Credit Union and you are unsure if it is real, do not click on any links. Call us at 979-846-7456 to verify that the message is legitimate and truly from the credit union.
What you can do to help

While Brazos Star Credit Union has ways to protect your accounts, many of the tools are available through our Online Banking system. When you enroll in our free Online Banking system, you have anytime, anywhere access to your accounts.

• Sign up to receive eStatements and electronic documents through Online Banking to help reduce the risk of identity theft from stolen paper documents.
• Create strong passwords to help protect against hackers to your online accounts. An ideal password should be 12 or more characters and use a combination of special characters, numbers and capital and lower-case letters. Try to avoid the use of common or familiar words or names that can be easily available on social media as part of your password.
• Review your credit report annually through www.AnnualCreditReport.com. You can request a free copy once every 12 months. This is available through the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, or Transunion.
• Shred important papers like credit union or bank statements and other sensitive information before discarding them.
• Keep your devices (phone, tablets, laptops, and computers) up to date with the latest browsers and operating systems.
• When entering your PIN on any ATM, shield the PIN pad from curious eyes, and always be on the lookout for skimmers or other unusual devices on or around the machine.