Christmas is a joyous time of the year, but it can also be busy and stressful. Scammers like to take advantage of this fact, meaning you need to be on your guard.
| Whether you are shopping online or at your local shopping centre, scammers can target you.
This year’s more common scams include:
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- Offering a free iPad – Scammers obtain your credit card details through a quiz or offering the free iPad after a genuine online purchase has been made.
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- Relatives in trouble – the victim receives an email seemingly from a family member or friend who reports that they have been robbed and require money to be transferred to an account.
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- Christmas e-Cards – some e-Cards may give you more than ‘Season’s Greetings’. Scammers can steal data through an e-Card containing viruses or malware.
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- Charities – Scammers may pose as charities encouraging you to donate to a specific relief fund or other causes.
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- Themed screensavers and wallpapers – Many people like to include their computer in the festive season but downloaded screensavers and wallpapers may contain viruses.
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It is also important to watch out for other types of fraud that occur during the year. Scams such as phishing, lottery scams, job offers etc. are increased in volume around Christmas.
As always, the key to staying safe is ensuring you know the source of what you are purchasing or downloading. If you receive an email from an unknown source, delete it or in the case of the ‘Relatives in Trouble’ scam, call your friend or relative first to double check. If you receive a call from someone asking for your details, challenge the authenticity of the call, ask them where they are from, how they got your number and if you are not satisfied, hang up.
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The Credit Union will never call you to confirm credit card numbers or ask for details regarding your card. If you do receive a suspect call, hang up and contact the Credit Union.
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If you have any questions regarding fraud, please contact the Credit Union.
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