Have you given your personal information to anyone recently? Social engineering can happen through a phone call, text message, email, or in-person. These communications are designed to get you to do something, such as clicking on a link, entering your information into a website, or making you think something is wrong and that they have the solution. The messages typically create a sense of urgency.

How do fraudsters do it?

• They can get your personal information from data breaches, social media, or by theft to name a few.
• They use the information to build a profile and socially engineer you.
• One of the more common social engineering scams we see takes place over the phone or text message.
• A member might receive a text claiming to be from the Fraud Department, asking you to verify recent charges on your account.

What can I do?

• The best thing to do when someone calls you claiming to be from the credit union is to hang up and call Gesa’s Member Contact Center at (888) 946-4372.
• Gesa will never ask you over the phone for your full account number, online banking username, online banking password, ATM, debit, or credit card pin, CV2 (the 3 digit code on the back of your card), or your expiration date.