Beware of Scams: Salal Credit Union will never contact you directly by text message, email, or phone call to verify information such as, the last four of your card number, your PIN, or CVV code on the back of your debit or credit card. Some members and non-members have recently been seeing an increase in scammers impersonating Salal Credit Union in text messages. If you’re suspicious of a call or message, do not engage and contact Salal directly at 800.562.5515.
It’s important for us all to stay alert to the latest scams attempted by criminals to gain personal financial data. Some Salal members have recently reported receiving text messages and phone calls from fraudsters indicating they are from Salal Credit Union’s fraud department. Fraudsters use spoofing techniques that appear to be calling from Salal in an attempt to gain your trust, steal your card information, and bypass security protections to access your account online. To make their impersonation more believable, fraudsters will often use personal information obtained when external companies and organization experience data breaches and sensitive info is made vulnerable.
A Typical Impersonation Scam Scenario
A scammer will do everything they can to appear as if they are a real Salal employee who is attempting to assist you with your accounts. Posing as a representative of the “Salal Fraud department,” the scammer calls or texts a Salal member using a spoofed phone number so the call or text message appears to be coming from Salal Credit Union.
The caller or text message might ask you to verify transactions on your debit or credit card and then claim there was fraud on your account. They might say you need to move the money to protect yourself. They ask you to provide personal information to access your account, such as card numbers, CVV codes, PINs, and online account credentials. In addition, they will ask you to provide a one-time passcode sent to your phone to verify your identity so they can either add your card to a mobile wallet or log in to your online banking account. Please do not provide the code or any further information.
In a recent version of this scam, we have had several members report getting fraudulent text messages that pretend to be from the Salal Credit Union’s fraud monitoring system. These fake texts might ask you to verify transactions from a store such as Walmart or Target. These text messages can appear very similar to Salal’s legitimate fraud monitoring text messages we send out.
However, our legitimate fraud monitoring text messages do not display a phone number at the top but instead displays an SMS short code, which consists of 5 or 6 digits. Additionally, Salal’s fraud monitoring texts do not ask you to call a number displayed in the text. In the case of a legitimate fraud alert, Salal’s fraud-monitoring service might reach out to you directly via a phone call regarding possible fraudulent transactions.
As we mentioned above, we will never contact our members directly to verify information such as the last four of your card number, your PIN, or the CVV code on the back of your card. If you receive a call or text message regarding your Salal account that you believe may be fraudulent, do not engage with the caller. Instead, contact Salal Credit Union directly at 800.562.5515.
How to Protect Yourself from Credit Union Impersonation Scams:
- Never share private information via text. Legitimate attempts to validate credit or debit card activity requires a simple yes or no response via text.
- Do not click on a hyperlinked phone number sent via text or email.
- Do not provide one-time passcodes sent to your phone unless you initiated the phone call to the company.
- Do not download any apps on your phone or on your computer if instructed by the caller.
- Avoid providing personal information unless you initiated the call, even if the caller ID reads Salal Credit Union. Hang up and contact us using a phone number on the back of your card or from our Contact Us page.
For more information regarding scams, visit Consumer.FTC.gov/Scams.
