Fraud Prevention

Fraudulent emails will attempt to create urgency and coerce you to click on links or take action before carefully reading the message. Always take the time to review an email and watch for:

• Suspicious sender address: emails will never be sent by an organization from a public email domain such as @gmail, @yahoo, etc. Official emails from Ideal CU will always come use idealcu.com as the domain.
• Grammar and/or spelling errors: Fraudulent emails will often include spelling and/or grammatical errors. Be extra vigilant when encountering an email that contains several errors.
• Suspicious Links: Always hover over a link before clicking. This will reveal the website address the link points to. If the address seems suspicious or untrustworthy, do not click the link.

Fraudulent text messages will attempt to create urgency and coerce you to click on links or take action before carefully reading the message. Always take the time to review a text message and watch for:

• Texts asking for personal and/or account information: Ideal Credit Union will never ask you to provide personal identifiable information, passwords or PINS via text.
• Suspicious Links: If you suspect a text message is fraudulent, do not click on any links or reply to the message.
• Check with Ideal CU if you suspect fraud: To confirm the validity of a text, you can call 651-770-7000 to speak with an Ideal CU Representative.

Although certain Ideal CU text message notifications are legitimate, you should always be cautious of the sender and use your best judgement before clicking links or responding.

Phone scams are one of the top ways fraudsters scam people out of money. Sometimes their only goal is to steal your information — don't give it to them! Here are some ways to help protect yourself against phone scams:

• Never provide personal or account information to an unsolicited caller — If you did not make the phone call, you should NOT provide any information.
• If you receive a suspicious phone call, hang up and contact the company yourself using the phone number you know and trust.
• Review financial statements regularly to ensure all transactions are correct. If you have Internet account access, periodically review activity online as well.

If you believe you have given personal information to a scammer, contact your financial institution and the three credit reporting agencies immediately. Also, closely monitor your credit files and account statements.