November 21, 2024 • 18 mins
In this episode of Small Talks for Big Change, we welcome fraud expert Tiffany Kiefer to highlight the most common holiday scams—from fake delivery notices to fraudulent charity requests. Learn how to spot red flags, protect your personal information, and stay safe while shopping this season. Tune in for essential tips to safeguard your wallet and avoid falling victim to scams this holiday season.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Thank you for joining us for SmallTalks for Big Change, where we
help simplify financial topics tohelp with your financial wellness.
Thanks everyone for tuning into the show.
My name is Michelle, your host,and we recorded an episode earlier
addressing spending during theholidays, and the other topic we want
to make sure that we cover around thistime of year is the topic of fraud.
(00:22):
Dun, dun, dun.
And to help us stay away.
Aware of scams is our good friend, TiffanyKiefer, Director of Fraud Innovation.
Tiffany, really great tohave you back in the studio.
How you doing?
It's great to be back.
Thanks for having me, Michelle.
Can you believe we're officially here?
Yes.
Ready or not, We're here.
(00:44):
It's the holidays andI'm on extra high alert.
I don't know about you with scammers.
Um, I believe you are too.
I'm going to guess you are.
You shared with me somearticles about specific scams.
As we're preparing for theshow, and scams that are
most common around this time.
Like requests from often fake charities,online shopping scams, and fraudulent
(01:05):
communications about delivery problems.
So what do you think about today,just breaking down some of the
details about these and giving ussome key indicators to look out for?
Okay, well, we are going to dive intothe specific scams, but in general,
the key indicators present when ascam may be taking place often involve
the request for money or information,as well as a sense of urgency.
(01:28):
Scams often present as anopportunity that you can't pass up.
It goes back to the adage of if somethingseems to be too good to be true.
then it likely isn't.
Okay, so let's start with what seemsto be some of the most common scams.
, I know this is definitely true forme and it's the fake delivery scam.
The one that I feel likehas been going on for years.
(01:50):
They just get to be, , more inquantity as the years go on.
Yeah.
, but that kind of aligns with howmuch more packages that, , we expect
in order, during the holidays.
Sue, you shared some data from an AARPstudy, on holiday fraud that reported
53 percent of adults have receivedsome kind of notification from someone
saying they are from the either U.
(02:11):
S.
Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, about ashipment issue, that turned out to be
fraudulent and that's up 29 percent fromthe previous year and I think we can
expect that, number to grow this year.
Tell us about this scamand what we look out for.
Okay.
So delivery scams are whena consumer receives fake
notification of a missed delivery.
(02:33):
Typically coming in viatext, but may also be email.
The bad actor will impersonate the U.
S.
Postal Service or deliveryservices such as UPS or FedEx.
These messages often contain linksto phishing sites designed to
steal your personal information.
To your point.
These texts often ramp up over the holidayseason because that's when a lot of people
(02:58):
are placing orders for, deliveries.
, because of shopping habitsand having deliveries made
to your home or, , as a gift.
Yeah, and I know we mentioned some of themajor carriers, but like, I'm thinking
about last year DHL was included in thereand there were others, what would you
say is kind of the best way to, , stayaware of what's fake and what's not?
(03:21):
Because you do want to actuallycheck the tracking, the tracking
update from whatever package.
So how do you spot?
Some of these fake notifications.
And so you can look at it, , two ways.
One, is it an item that you haveordered yourself, and so you would go
back to the source, the retailer, andlook for the shipping confirmation
information, and however it was,, that the item is being sent to you.
(03:44):
You also should consider ifyou have a relative or friend
who's sending you an item.
And so rather than engaging with thetext message, , Speak with the individual
who would have placed the order.
Yeah, because the trick is toclick, it's clickbait, right?
So you're suggesting going back to thewebsite or the app in which you ordered it
(04:04):
from and checking your order status there?
Yes, or check in with theindividual who placed the order.
And if you're not aware of somebodyplacing an order, still do not engage
with the link from the text message.
You can check in in directly with the U.
S.
Postal Service if you are unawareif somebody has sent you an item.
(04:24):
Gotcha.
Some of those emailslook really real also.
So how do you kind of, you know, say youget something, you've gotten one before,
like I'll give Amazon as an example.
I could check it in the app, butI'm used to getting their emails and
I'm used to clicking on the shippingnotification from their email.
How do you check thevalidity of those things?
(04:44):
And so it's going back to your Amazonapp and checking any notifications that
you are receiving directly from Amazon.
And, you do bring up a good pointof right now, those fake emails,
those phishing emails, Yeah.
Right?
And so that goes along with the emergingtrend of bad actors utilizing deepfakes.
(05:08):
And so years ago, youwould be able to identify,
inconsistencies within the email.
You could see spellingerrors, grammar errors.
And so right now, badactors are utilizing.
AI, chat GPT, to improve howthey are trying to con consumers.
Gotcha.
So try not to fall for the phishing, theemail, no clicking, go back to the source.
(05:33):
Don't click, go back to the source.
Check from the source.
Okay, gotcha.
There was one scam that was completelyunfamiliar to me on AARP's list of holiday
scams, and that was a charity scam.
And while I loved learning thatindividual Americans contributed
a record of 375 billion In charityin 2023, I guess that also means
(05:54):
it's an opportunity for scammers.
Yes, it is, and I, charity scams are notas easily identified, say, if it's the
delivery scam or if you order somethingand you don't actually receive it.
Right?
And so people will donate to afake charity, without realizing
(06:15):
that they have been scammed.
Right?
And so what these bad actors willdo, they will either pose as a
legitimate charity or they will solicitdonations, from an unsuspecting
individual, with a fake charity.
And so they will set up a websiteand they will source, donors.
And, Is this the same kind of phishingsituation, too, where you might get
(06:38):
an email that asks you to donate?
Yes, it can materialize in that way,where you can get emails in, please
donate to this cause, , these bad actorsare, attempting to exploit people's,
generosity, their goodwill, right?
And so over the holidays, peopletend to be more charitable because
(06:59):
of the time of year that it is.
Yeah, and the hook for themis usually an email form.
Do they call?
It could be both.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
So think of all of the channels.
It could be a mailer, it couldbe a text, it can be an email.
Okay.
It could be a call.
Yeah.
And what advice are you giving?
Same thing with regard to checkingnotifications, go back to the source.
(07:20):
It's crucial to verify the legitimacyof a charity before donating
to ensure your contributionsare going to a genuine cause.
There are websites out there wherethey do assessments of charities.
And so I would.
Check the validity of that charity.
And so just going to the charity'swebsite, that could be the website
(07:41):
that the bad actor is set up.
And so it's better to verify froman actual, platform, a source, that
does an assessment of charities.
Okay.
Gotcha.
We've touched on this one briefly,and it's the employment scam.
I feel like you were here lastyear and we were talking about
employment scams and those are common.
But, I didn't think about thefact that it's ramped up during
(08:03):
the holiday season with a lot ofpeople looking for seasonal work.
So talk to us about thisseasonal employment scam.
Okay.
So a job scam involves fraudstersoffering fake employment opportunities.
The intent is to steal personalinformation or money from that job seeker.
And so these scams often includepromises of a high salary with little
(08:25):
work or require upfront payments fortraining or equipment, which are.
Actually never provided.
And so the bad actors will send a checkto, the job seeker for the amount of 5,
000 and say, Oh, you have to purchase yourcomputer and all of your office equipment.
And so here's your 5, 000 check.
(08:46):
You have to send funds to this person.
Source by pulling out cash,sending a wire, buying gift cards.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Any key words in there thatwe should really look out for?
I kind of feel like anything giftcard, I'm like, yeah, flag right there.
So the red flags, when it comes toa job scam and again, because it's
(09:08):
the holidays, people are lookingfor, other sources to pull in funds,
you know, for holiday spending.
The red flags often come in the form ofupfront payments, vague job descriptions,
unprofessional communication, as wellas high salaries with unpaid work.
(09:31):
So this goes back to your, if itsounds too good to be true, it's
probably too good to be true.
So this starts at the beginning.
So this starts at the actual job post.
The actual get is the job posting.
And then they'll Talkabout the opportunity.
The high salary is what we're lookingout for, but then it's that, that idea
of you, we're going to mail you moneyand you have to buy your own supplies.
(09:54):
That doesn't typically workin typical employment world.
Yeah, you're right.
Okay, too good to be true.
Don't fall for it.
There's the red flag there.
Okay, so you mentioned in prep for theshow that, AI and deepfakes is going
to be really the new thing that we'vegot to look out for this holiday season.
, tell us about deepfakes specifically.
(10:15):
Deepfakes are highly realisticand manipulated digital
media, often videos or images.
They are created usingartificial intelligence to
alter appearances or voices.
, they can be used for bothentertainment and video.
And malicious purposes suchas spreading misinformation
or impersonating individuals.
This technology is an emerging trendin how bad actors engage with victims
(10:39):
because the sophistication of deepfakesmakes it challenging to distinguish.
Yeah, have we experienced thisor have our members and have
they contacted us about this?
How does this manifest?
So today, bad actors will attemptto create a deep fake images, for
a driver's license trying to gainaccess with a membership, right?
(11:03):
So that's identity fraud.
For example, gotcha.
What around the holidays, what mightwe look out for regarding deepfakes?
During the holidays, it could be, youreceiving a phone call from somebody
impersonating a celebrity askingyou to donate to a charity, right?
So it can materialize in any waywhere you are being contacted.
(11:27):
And if it's a genuine, ifit's a source that you trust.
You may be more willing togive information, to take
action, or to give money.
Gotcha.
Does this also work where, , theypretend to be family members
asking for money for the holidays?
Yes.
Yes, they can.
That's so unfortunate.
I know.
I know, and so if you get a phonecall, somebody's asking you money, but
(11:48):
it does not genuinely sound like howthat individual interacts with you.
Use caution.
Gotcha.
And you know what the sad part is?
I rarely pick up the phoneanymore just because there's
just so many going around now.
Okay, the rule of thumb withthe deepfake is it may sound
real but too good to be true.
Maybe verify, hanging up and verifyingthe source, calling them back.
(12:11):
To your point, I never pick up my phone.
Caller ID is very easily spoofed.
And so just as somebody is asking youfor something or to perform an action
such as buying gift cards, previouslybad actors were utilizing email or they
were sending messages in social media.
(12:31):
Now, they are, using the technologythat's available today to trick
consumers into buying Gotcha.
Just more to think about,more to watch out for.
Okay.
What about artificial intelligence relatedto what we can expect for the holidays?
Thinking of artificialintelligence It goes back to, the
(12:54):
requests for, charity donation.
Yeah.
And so the bad actors will take thepreviously unsophisticated communication
that they have used in the past,run it through AI, and improve
how it appears, how it generates.
They will take communication thatis legitimate and say, update this
(13:17):
to include my fake charity, etc.
Gotcha.
And so that's how, that's how it appears.
And so that's why we say alwaysgo back to the true source.
Gotcha.
So it sounds like a lot of thesescams we probably have heard before,
they're just more sophisticated.
They're more realistic.
It's technology.
So we've got to be on highalert with all the things.
(13:37):
All right.
Give us some last tips.
of things we need to look outfor as we approach this season.
Oh, sure.
And so, over Thanksgiving, especiallyThanksgiving Day and Black Friday,
, card fraud, very much increases,especially because, , consumers are
spending time with their family.
They're not checking theirtext messages or their emails.
(13:59):
And, and so, it would be a good ideato pay attention If you do receive
communication from your financialinstitution, however, again, going
back to the spoofing, it could bea bad actor who's contacting you,
impersonating your credit union.
And so go back to the source.
(14:20):
Contact your financialinstitution directly.
Card controls in your online banking.
Log into your online bankingand you can freeze your card.
Oh, or set up an alert.
Yes.
Okay.
Yes.
, gift card fraud oftenoccurs in a variety of ways.
And so if you are purchasing giftcards, at the checkout lane, there
could be bad actors who have alreadytaken that code and they're just
(14:42):
waiting for you to fund the gift card.
Wow.
And so be aware.
If that, the backing of the giftcard has been altered in any way.
Okay.
Gotcha.
So you're talking about somebody that isin a retail, so I'm at Target and like
maybe the back is ripped or compromised.
Yeah.
Okay.
There was a mention in the AARP studyabout, , gift cards with zero balances.
(15:06):
Um, is getting a confirmation ata retailer enough or you've still
got to check if it's compromised.
And so how this would happen is you'restanding in line at the retailer.
Okay.
You purchase your 25 giftcard, you walk out, right?
And so, say this is thefirst week of December.
You then give that gift cardto somebody for the holidays.
(15:29):
And so that's three, four weeks laterwhen they may go to use that gift card.
Within that three to four weekperiod of time, the bad actor
would have spent the funds onthat gift card by using the codes.
Gotcha.
But they've taken it at the retailer.
Gotcha.
They've taken it prior toyou funding the gift card.
(15:50):
Gotcha.
Oh my gosh, Tiffany, so many thingswe've got to look out for on top
of whatever we learned from lastyear and the year before that.
Just more sophistication, I thinkthat we're saying, things look, appear
more real, voices sound more real.
So we're on just extra high alert.
But there's things we cando in the way of prevention.
So you're talking about.
(16:11):
Being, cognizant of text messagesprimarily around Thanksgiving,
Black Friday, when purchasingactivity is higher, , going back
to the source and checking with theoriginal, , either institution or
whoever you've made purchases from.
What do you, what advice do youhave to give for somebody that's
fallen, , victim to a scam?
Can Patelco help?
(16:32):
Oh, absolutely.
And so if, If a member falls victim toa scam, we would want them to contact
us, either by going into the branch,calling the member contact center.
We have our contact center fraudexperience team who specializes
in assisting scam victims.
And so dependent upon the type of scamthat has occurred, we will assist the
(16:54):
member with information of the stepsthat they should take, filing a report
with law enforcement, freezing yourcredit, freezing your check systems.
And so it just the steps that youshould take to protect yourself.
That's great that we have a live person,because we also have a Fraud Center,
which is chock full of great information.
Yes.
It's more on the preventative side,but , there's also links to ways that
(17:17):
they can get in touch with us, and beingable to talk to a live person is so
critical, so really glad to hear that.
You can find more informationabout our Fraud Center.
It's at patelco.
org slash fraud.
, Tiffany, any last thoughts?
tidbits as we head into this season.
I need to hear this.
I scheduled this episodemostly for myself.
(17:38):
I'm planning to do a lot ofshopping during Black Friday.
And you know, I am really curiousevery time I get a text message
every time I get an email and I'mlike, would be so much easier to get
there if I had just clicked this.
So and that is very true.
And what I'm going to say is Slow down.
Yeah.
Because the sense of urgency, that iswhat the bad actors are relying on.
(17:58):
Gotcha.
And so you slow down.
If it's too good to betrue, okay, don't do it.
Yeah.
And if you have questions, call us.
Yep.
Okay.
That's great advice.
Thank you so much for coming backinto the studio, helping us get
aware and prepare for the holidays.
That concludes today's episode ofSmall Talks for Big Change, where
we help simplify financial topics tohelp with your financial wellness.
(18:21):
Stay aware out there, friends.
Happy holidays, andwe'll see you next time.
Podolko Credit Union is insured by NCUA.
Thank you for joining us for SmallTalks for Big Change, where we
help simplify financial topics tohelp with your financial wellness.
Thanks everyone for tuning into the show.
My name is Michelle, your host,and we recorded an episode earlier
addressing spending during theholidays, and the other topic we want
to make sure that we cover around thistime of year is the topic of fraud.
(00:22):
Dun, dun, dun.
And to help us stay away.
Aware of scams is our good friend, TiffanyKiefer, Director of Fraud Innovation.
Tiffany, really great tohave you back in the studio.
How you doing?
It's great to be back.
Thanks for having me, Michelle.
Can you believe we're officially here?
Yes.
Ready or not, We're here.
(00:44):
It's the holidays andI'm on extra high alert.
I don't know about you with scammers.
Um, I believe you are too.
I'm going to guess you are.
You shared with me somearticles about specific scams.
As we're preparing for theshow, and scams that are
most common around this time.
Like requests from often fake charities,online shopping scams, and fraudulent
(01:05):
communications about delivery problems.
So what do you think about today,just breaking down some of the
details about these and giving ussome key indicators to look out for?
Okay, well, we are going to dive intothe specific scams, but in general,
the key indicators present when ascam may be taking place often involve
the request for money or information,as well as a sense of urgency.
(01:28):
Scams often present as anopportunity that you can't pass up.
It goes back to the adage of if somethingseems to be too good to be true.
then it likely isn't.
Okay, so let's start with what seemsto be some of the most common scams.
, I know this is definitely true forme and it's the fake delivery scam.
The one that I feel likehas been going on for years.
(01:50):
They just get to be, , more inquantity as the years go on.
Yeah.
, but that kind of aligns with howmuch more packages that, , we expect
in order, during the holidays.
Sue, you shared some data from an AARPstudy, on holiday fraud that reported
53 percent of adults have receivedsome kind of notification from someone
saying they are from the either U.
(02:11):
S.
Postal Service, FedEx, UPS, about ashipment issue, that turned out to be
fraudulent and that's up 29 percent fromthe previous year and I think we can
expect that, number to grow this year.
Tell us about this scamand what we look out for.
Okay.
So delivery scams are whena consumer receives fake
notification of a missed delivery.
(02:33):
Typically coming in viatext, but may also be email.
The bad actor will impersonate the U.
S.
Postal Service or deliveryservices such as UPS or FedEx.
These messages often contain linksto phishing sites designed to
steal your personal information.
To your point.
These texts often ramp up over the holidayseason because that's when a lot of people
(02:58):
are placing orders for, deliveries.
, because of shopping habitsand having deliveries made
to your home or, , as a gift.
Yeah, and I know we mentioned some of themajor carriers, but like, I'm thinking
about last year DHL was included in thereand there were others, what would you
say is kind of the best way to, , stayaware of what's fake and what's not?
(03:21):
Because you do want to actuallycheck the tracking, the tracking
update from whatever package.
So how do you spot?
Some of these fake notifications.
And so you can look at it, , two ways.
One, is it an item that you haveordered yourself, and so you would go
back to the source, the retailer, andlook for the shipping confirmation
information, and however it was,, that the item is being sent to you.
(03:44):
You also should consider ifyou have a relative or friend
who's sending you an item.
And so rather than engaging with thetext message, , Speak with the individual
who would have placed the order.
Yeah, because the trick is toclick, it's clickbait, right?
So you're suggesting going back to thewebsite or the app in which you ordered it
(04:04):
from and checking your order status there?
Yes, or check in with theindividual who placed the order.
And if you're not aware of somebodyplacing an order, still do not engage
with the link from the text message.
You can check in in directly with the U.
S.
Postal Service if you are unawareif somebody has sent you an item.
(04:24):
Gotcha.
Some of those emailslook really real also.
So how do you kind of, you know, say youget something, you've gotten one before,
like I'll give Amazon as an example.
I could check it in the app, butI'm used to getting their emails and
I'm used to clicking on the shippingnotification from their email.
How do you check thevalidity of those things?
(04:44):
And so it's going back to your Amazonapp and checking any notifications that
you are receiving directly from Amazon.
And, you do bring up a good pointof right now, those fake emails,
those phishing emails, Yeah.
Right?
And so that goes along with the emergingtrend of bad actors utilizing deepfakes.
(05:08):
And so years ago, youwould be able to identify,
inconsistencies within the email.
You could see spellingerrors, grammar errors.
And so right now, badactors are utilizing.
AI, chat GPT, to improve howthey are trying to con consumers.
Gotcha.
So try not to fall for the phishing, theemail, no clicking, go back to the source.
(05:33):
Don't click, go back to the source.
Check from the source.
Okay, gotcha.
There was one scam that was completelyunfamiliar to me on AARP's list of holiday
scams, and that was a charity scam.
And while I loved learning thatindividual Americans contributed
a record of 375 billion In charityin 2023, I guess that also means
(05:54):
it's an opportunity for scammers.
Yes, it is, and I, charity scams are notas easily identified, say, if it's the
delivery scam or if you order somethingand you don't actually receive it.
Right?
And so people will donate to afake charity, without realizing
(06:15):
that they have been scammed.
Right?
And so what these bad actors willdo, they will either pose as a
legitimate charity or they will solicitdonations, from an unsuspecting
individual, with a fake charity.
And so they will set up a websiteand they will source, donors.
And, Is this the same kind of phishingsituation, too, where you might get
(06:38):
an email that asks you to donate?
Yes, it can materialize in that way,where you can get emails in, please
donate to this cause, , these bad actorsare, attempting to exploit people's,
generosity, their goodwill, right?
And so over the holidays, peopletend to be more charitable because
(06:59):
of the time of year that it is.
Yeah, and the hook for themis usually an email form.
Do they call?
It could be both.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
So think of all of the channels.
It could be a mailer, it couldbe a text, it can be an email.
Okay.
It could be a call.
Yeah.
And what advice are you giving?
Same thing with regard to checkingnotifications, go back to the source.
(07:20):
It's crucial to verify the legitimacyof a charity before donating
to ensure your contributionsare going to a genuine cause.
There are websites out there wherethey do assessments of charities.
And so I would.
Check the validity of that charity.
And so just going to the charity'swebsite, that could be the website
(07:41):
that the bad actor is set up.
And so it's better to verify froman actual, platform, a source, that
does an assessment of charities.
Okay.
Gotcha.
We've touched on this one briefly,and it's the employment scam.
I feel like you were here lastyear and we were talking about
employment scams and those are common.
But, I didn't think about thefact that it's ramped up during
(08:03):
the holiday season with a lot ofpeople looking for seasonal work.
So talk to us about thisseasonal employment scam.
Okay.
So a job scam involves fraudstersoffering fake employment opportunities.
The intent is to steal personalinformation or money from that job seeker.
And so these scams often includepromises of a high salary with little
(08:25):
work or require upfront payments fortraining or equipment, which are.
Actually never provided.
And so the bad actors will send a checkto, the job seeker for the amount of 5,
000 and say, Oh, you have to purchase yourcomputer and all of your office equipment.
And so here's your 5, 000 check.
(08:46):
You have to send funds to this person.
Source by pulling out cash,sending a wire, buying gift cards.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Any key words in there thatwe should really look out for?
I kind of feel like anything giftcard, I'm like, yeah, flag right there.
So the red flags, when it comes toa job scam and again, because it's
(09:08):
the holidays, people are lookingfor, other sources to pull in funds,
you know, for holiday spending.
The red flags often come in the form ofupfront payments, vague job descriptions,
unprofessional communication, as wellas high salaries with unpaid work.
(09:31):
So this goes back to your, if itsounds too good to be true, it's
probably too good to be true.
So this starts at the beginning.
So this starts at the actual job post.
The actual get is the job posting.
And then they'll Talkabout the opportunity.
The high salary is what we're lookingout for, but then it's that, that idea
of you, we're going to mail you moneyand you have to buy your own supplies.
(09:54):
That doesn't typically workin typical employment world.
Yeah, you're right.
Okay, too good to be true.
Don't fall for it.
There's the red flag there.
Okay, so you mentioned in prep for theshow that, AI and deepfakes is going
to be really the new thing that we'vegot to look out for this holiday season.
, tell us about deepfakes specifically.
(10:15):
Deepfakes are highly realisticand manipulated digital
media, often videos or images.
They are created usingartificial intelligence to
alter appearances or voices.
, they can be used for bothentertainment and video.
And malicious purposes suchas spreading misinformation
or impersonating individuals.
This technology is an emerging trendin how bad actors engage with victims
(10:39):
because the sophistication of deepfakesmakes it challenging to distinguish.
Yeah, have we experienced thisor have our members and have
they contacted us about this?
How does this manifest?
So today, bad actors will attemptto create a deep fake images, for
a driver's license trying to gainaccess with a membership, right?
(11:03):
So that's identity fraud.
For example, gotcha.
What around the holidays, what mightwe look out for regarding deepfakes?
During the holidays, it could be, youreceiving a phone call from somebody
impersonating a celebrity askingyou to donate to a charity, right?
So it can materialize in any waywhere you are being contacted.
(11:27):
And if it's a genuine, ifit's a source that you trust.
You may be more willing togive information, to take
action, or to give money.
Gotcha.
Does this also work where, , theypretend to be family members
asking for money for the holidays?
Yes.
Yes, they can.
That's so unfortunate.
I know.
I know, and so if you get a phonecall, somebody's asking you money, but
(11:48):
it does not genuinely sound like howthat individual interacts with you.
Use caution.
Gotcha.
And you know what the sad part is?
I rarely pick up the phoneanymore just because there's
just so many going around now.
Okay, the rule of thumb withthe deepfake is it may sound
real but too good to be true.
Maybe verify, hanging up and verifyingthe source, calling them back.
(12:11):
To your point, I never pick up my phone.
Caller ID is very easily spoofed.
And so just as somebody is asking youfor something or to perform an action
such as buying gift cards, previouslybad actors were utilizing email or they
were sending messages in social media.
(12:31):
Now, they are, using the technologythat's available today to trick
consumers into buying Gotcha.
Just more to think about,more to watch out for.
Okay.
What about artificial intelligence relatedto what we can expect for the holidays?
Thinking of artificialintelligence It goes back to, the
(12:54):
requests for, charity donation.
Yeah.
And so the bad actors will take thepreviously unsophisticated communication
that they have used in the past,run it through AI, and improve
how it appears, how it generates.
They will take communication thatis legitimate and say, update this
(13:17):
to include my fake charity, etc.
Gotcha.
And so that's how, that's how it appears.
And so that's why we say alwaysgo back to the true source.
Gotcha.
So it sounds like a lot of thesescams we probably have heard before,
they're just more sophisticated.
They're more realistic.
It's technology.
So we've got to be on highalert with all the things.
(13:37):
All right.
Give us some last tips.
of things we need to look outfor as we approach this season.
Oh, sure.
And so, over Thanksgiving, especiallyThanksgiving Day and Black Friday,
, card fraud, very much increases,especially because, , consumers are
spending time with their family.
They're not checking theirtext messages or their emails.
(13:59):
And, and so, it would be a good ideato pay attention If you do receive
communication from your financialinstitution, however, again, going
back to the spoofing, it could bea bad actor who's contacting you,
impersonating your credit union.
And so go back to the source.
(14:20):
Contact your financialinstitution directly.
Card controls in your online banking.
Log into your online bankingand you can freeze your card.
Oh, or set up an alert.
Yes.
Okay.
Yes.
, gift card fraud oftenoccurs in a variety of ways.
And so if you are purchasing giftcards, at the checkout lane, there
could be bad actors who have alreadytaken that code and they're just
(14:42):
waiting for you to fund the gift card.
Wow.
And so be aware.
If that, the backing of the giftcard has been altered in any way.
Okay.
Gotcha.
So you're talking about somebody that isin a retail, so I'm at Target and like
maybe the back is ripped or compromised.
Yeah.
Okay.
There was a mention in the AARP studyabout, , gift cards with zero balances.
(15:06):
Um, is getting a confirmation ata retailer enough or you've still
got to check if it's compromised.
And so how this would happen is you'restanding in line at the retailer.
Okay.
You purchase your 25 giftcard, you walk out, right?
And so, say this is thefirst week of December.
You then give that gift cardto somebody for the holidays.
(15:29):
And so that's three, four weeks laterwhen they may go to use that gift card.
Within that three to four weekperiod of time, the bad actor
would have spent the funds onthat gift card by using the codes.
Gotcha.
But they've taken it at the retailer.
Gotcha.
They've taken it prior toyou funding the gift card.
(15:50):
Gotcha.
Oh my gosh, Tiffany, so many thingswe've got to look out for on top
of whatever we learned from lastyear and the year before that.
Just more sophistication, I thinkthat we're saying, things look, appear
more real, voices sound more real.
So we're on just extra high alert.
But there's things we cando in the way of prevention.
So you're talking about.
(16:11):
Being, cognizant of text messagesprimarily around Thanksgiving,
Black Friday, when purchasingactivity is higher, , going back
to the source and checking with theoriginal, , either institution or
whoever you've made purchases from.
What do you, what advice do youhave to give for somebody that's
fallen, , victim to a scam?
Can Patelco help?
(16:32):
Oh, absolutely.
And so if, If a member falls victim toa scam, we would want them to contact
us, either by going into the branch,calling the member contact center.
We have our contact center fraudexperience team who specializes
in assisting scam victims.
And so dependent upon the type of scamthat has occurred, we will assist the
(16:54):
member with information of the stepsthat they should take, filing a report
with law enforcement, freezing yourcredit, freezing your check systems.
And so it just the steps that youshould take to protect yourself.
That's great that we have a live person,because we also have a Fraud Center,
which is chock full of great information.
Yes.
It's more on the preventative side,but , there's also links to ways that
(17:17):
they can get in touch with us, and beingable to talk to a live person is so
critical, so really glad to hear that.
You can find more informationabout our Fraud Center.
It's at patelco.
org slash fraud.
, Tiffany, any last thoughts?
tidbits as we head into this season.
I need to hear this.
I scheduled this episodemostly for myself.
(17:38):
I'm planning to do a lot ofshopping during Black Friday.
And you know, I am really curiousevery time I get a text message
every time I get an email and I'mlike, would be so much easier to get
there if I had just clicked this.
So and that is very true.
And what I'm going to say is Slow down.
Yeah.
Because the sense of urgency, that iswhat the bad actors are relying on.
(17:58):
Gotcha.
And so you slow down.
If it's too good to betrue, okay, don't do it.
Yeah.
And if you have questions, call us.
Yep.
Okay.
That's great advice.
Thank you so much for coming backinto the studio, helping us get
aware and prepare for the holidays.
That concludes today's episode ofSmall Talks for Big Change, where
we help simplify financial topics tohelp with your financial wellness.
(18:21):
Stay aware out there, friends.
Happy holidays, andwe'll see you next time.
Podolko Credit Union is insured by NCUA.
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