A cold, hard truth exists in this world, which has been with us since the dawn of the trading and bartering age – Scammers exist. Scammers, otherwise known as “bad actors,” will always exist in society, with their number one goal being to gain easy money by taking advantage of others. As technology advances, so do their tactics; we find ourselves deep into the digital age, and things have changed. As new products and methods of transferring and receiving funds hit the world stage, so do new opportunities for bad actors.

    One sobering statistic is that in 2024, the estimated consumer losses caused by scammers globally were between $6 and $10 billion. Compare that to the 2024 estimated global data on funds lost due to hacking being $2 - $2.5 billion. The gap between scam losses and genuine hacking is quite vast; while $2.5 billion is nothing to balk at, the estimated figures regarding scam losses are much more severe. As much as we, as a credit union, do our best to defend against these types of losses, defending against scams is everyone’s responsibility.

    These are the most common scam archetypes that we encounter here at Town & Country Credit Union.

    1. Impersonator Scams

    2. Social Media Scams

    3. Website Scams

    4. Investment Scams

    While all of these scams can take place within different digital mediums, they almost always play out the same and are coated in red flags, such as the ones listed below;

    1. Being rushed to complete the funds transfer.

    2. Asked to send funds via Gift Card to an agency or entity that is not the specific company for which the Gift Card is intended.

    3. Funds are being sent to a different name than the person you spoke with.

    This is very common and avoidable with systems like Zelle. When a new contact is added to your Zelle profile, the system will tell you who the token is registered to.

    1. The opportunity seems too good to be true.

    2. If you are asked for your online banking username/password or other sensitive login information, scammers generally say they need the information to establish a direct deposit or to verify you. This is not necessary in any situation.

    A Town & Country Credit Union employee will never ask you for your TCCU Online password or any verification codes associated with TCCU Online.