August 6, 2024 – Westport Federal Credit Union wants to keep you safe from scammers. There has been a recent surge in calls from scammers impersonating financial institutions to get your card information. This call can come from an unknown number, but scammers have also figured out a way to make the caller ID the name or number of a victim’s bank. These scammers will read you information such as your email, address, or phone number to make it more believable.

On the phone, the scammer impersonating an employee may ask about recent transactions that didn’t actually happen to make you think some kind of fraudulent activity is taking place. The scammer may then ask you for your pin number, a code from a text message, or will even offer to come to your house to pick up your card and instruct you to cut it while leaving the chip intact so they can use it. We will never ask you any of this.

Stay safe by ignoring unknown calls. If the call seems to be coming from your financial institution but the person on the other end seems off, ask them a couple questions to verify such as when your account was created or what your last transaction was. Download CardValet – free for Westport Federal Credit Union members to be alerted whenever your cards are used, and well as our mobile banking app to view transactions and statements.

If you do receive one of these calls, contact the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center to prevent this from happening to others. If you believe you are a victim of one of these calls, call us at (508) 679-0197.