Hang Up on Spoofed SSA Calls

From the Federal Trade Commission, Division of Consumer & Business Education

If you get a call that looks like it’s from the Social Security Administration (SSA), think twice. Scammers are spoofing SSA’s 1-800 customer service number to try to get your personal information. Spoofing means that scammers can call from anywhere, but they make your caller ID show a different number – often one that looks legit. Here are few things you should know about these so-called SSA calls.

These scam calls are happening across the nation, according to SSA: Your phone rings. Your caller ID shows that it’s the SSA calling from 1-800-772-1213. The caller says he works for the Social Security Administration and needs your personal information – like your Social Security number – to increase your benefits payments. (Or he threatens to cut off your benefits if you don’t give the information.) But it’s not really the Social Security Administration calling. Yes, it is the SSA’s real phone number, but the scammers on the phone are spoofing the number to make the call look real.

What can you do if you get one of these calls? Hang up. Remember:

  • SSA will not threaten you. Real SSA employees will never threaten you to get personal information. They also won’t promise to increase your benefits in exchange for information. If they do, it’s a scam.
  • If you have any doubt, hang up and call SSA directly. Call 1-800-772-1213 – that really is the phone number for the Social Security Administration. If you dial that number, you know who you’re getting. But remember that you can’t trust caller ID. If a call comes in from that number, you can’t be sure it’s really SSA calling.
  • If you get a spoofed call, report it. If someone calls, claiming to be from SSA and asking for information like your Social Security number, report it to SSA’s Office of Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or https://oig.ssa.gov/report. You can also report these calls to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Credit Human to Discontinue Shared Branching in January

Credit Human Federal Credit Union has announced they will discontinue Shared Branching services to guest members beginning January 2, 2019. A list of active Shared Branching locations is available here.

IRS Identifies New Scam

Just days into the start of the 2018 filing season, the IRS identified a new scam in which cybercriminals have stolen client data from tax professionals and filed fraudulent refunds using real taxpayer information, including bank account and routing information for direct deposit.

The fraudster then contacts the taxpayer posing as an employee of a debt collection agency working on behalf of the IRS. They ask the taxpayer to take certain steps to return the refund, but actually the refund goes to the criminals.

IRS guidance to taxpayers who are victims asks them to contact the Automated Clearing House (ACH) department of the bank/financial institution where the direct deposit was received and have them return the refund to the IRS. The IRS also asks the taxpayers to call the agency toll-free at (800) 829-1040 (individual) or (800) 829-4933 (business) to explain why the direct deposit is being returned.

There is more information for taxpayers at Tax Topic Number: 161 – Returning an Erroneous Refund

HEBFCU Ranks #9 in America

H-E-B Federal Credit Union has been included in the 2016 Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions in America by Deposit Accounts, an online bank account comparison service. HEBFCU was evaluated with over 6,000 other credit unions and took ninth place.

Two more San Antonio credit unions were included in the Top 200; Synergy Federal Credit Union took 44th place and Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union took 184th place. An additional 21 Texas credit unions made the Top 200 list.

Deposit Accounts uses a proprietary formula to assess the financial health of all federally insured banks and credit unions in the US. Some of the key components of the formula include capitalization, deposit growth and loan-to-reserve ratios.

Deposit Accounts was created in 2005 by Ken Tumin as the Bank Deals Blog. Almost ten years and more than 10,000 articles later, the site has grown to become one of the largest consumer destinations in the United States maintaining a dedicated focus on depository banking products.

GoToMyCard.com Adds Multi-Factor Authentication

Gotomycard.com (GTMC) has added another layer of security for MasterCard cardholders when accessing their accounts online.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) provides an extra layer of protection to GTMC by letting you register challenge questions and answers to ensure that you are accessing the correct GTMC site and confirm that you are accessing your credit card.

This extra layer of security is being added to GTMC to protect your financial information and help deter online threats.