Skip to main content

Stay Ready: Avoid Holiday Scams

The holidays are here, and so are the scammers. Cybercriminals are lurking around every corner, waiting to steal your personal information and hard-earned money. The best way to protect yourself is by educating yourself. Keep reading to learn how to practice good cyber hygiene this holiday season. 

According to the Internet Crime Complaint’s 2021 Report, non-payment and non-delivery scams cost Americans more than $337 million. Credit card scams cost them another $173 million. A non-payment scam is when a seller ships goods or provides services but never receives payment. Non-delivery is when a buyer pays for goods or services online and never receives them. We hear horror stories every year, but how do we make sure we don’t become a statistic? 

The best course of action is to question everything. Always do your research and pay attention to what you’re interacting with digitally before you start clicking and giving out your card number, passwords, and sensitive information. Phishing is one of the biggest threats to your personal and financial information. “Almost 95% of breaches are due to some kind of phishing attack that happened prior,” says Roy Ross, our Chief Information Security Officer. Always check website URLs to make sure they’re legitimate sites. A telltale sign of a suspicious website is if the web address is missing HTTPS. Beware of phishing emails, texts, and phone calls. If you don’t recognize a number, do a Google search and see if it’s connected to a legitimate business. Examine the address that an email is sent from before you click on links and attachments. If it looks suspicious, it's most likely a scam. 

When making purchases, research the seller before you commit to buying. Read site reviews on their website and other sites. The seller could plant fake positive reviews on their website to cover up any evidence of a scam. Never wire money to any seller or pay with a prepaid gift card. Scammers will ask you for gift card information and drain the funds. Another pro tip is to never shop on public wifi. Never make any purchases or transactions on Wi-Fi that is not secure. Hackers wait to capture your information when you send it through these networks. 

Another good cyber habit is to stay on top of your credit card statements. Keep your receipts and compare them to your statements. If you notice suspicious activity, dispute it with your credit card company immediately. Keep your eye out for fake charities and fake freebies. Vet out organizations before you give them your money. Avoid social media ads or messages that say you won a free iPhone or other hot items. A good rule of thumb is that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. 

“It’s important for everybody to know how to protect themselves when they're online,” says Ross. No one is exempt from coming across scams, but you can always learn how to protect yourself from falling victim. When you educate yourself on what to look for and how to respond, you prevent hackers from stealing your holiday spirit (and private information)! 


You know how to protect yourself, but is your business safe this holiday season? #StayReady and #SecureEverything with CYBERCOMMANDER. Contact us for more information.

By Gia Tims

Comments

Post a Comment

Please no profanity or political comments.

Popular posts from this blog

New Year’s Resolution: Getting Your Estate in Order

        Helping families and their businesses plan for the future     Your Most Important New Year’s Resolution: Getting Your Estate in Order   Happy New Year to all. Every January, millions of Americans resolve to lose weight, exercise more, or learn a new skill. These are admirable goals. But there’s one resolution that matters more than all of them combined—one that most people avoid because it forces them to confront their own mortality. Get your estate in order. Not next year. Not when you retire. Now. The Problem With Tomorrow Here’s what I see constantly...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Syracuse Fire Department Credit Union

 Congrats, Tonia, on your promotion! ================================================= Remember, you're not alone with  NCOFCU.org Join/Upgrade Check out some of NCOFCU's additional features: First Responder Credit Union Academy Financial Literacy Podcasts YouTube Mini's Blog Job Board
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Sunday Reaing - Can the seasons really make you depressed?

    Can the seasons really make you depressed? Seasonal affective disorder   is a form of depression that repeats during predictable seasonal shifts, impacting an estimated 5% of the global population—predominantly women. Symptoms of the condition occur with significant cyclical changes in daylight hours, with prevalence increasing in regions north of 40 degrees latitude (less commonly in the Southern Hemisphere). Its etiology—or root cause—remains unclear to researchers. Though “winter blues” are commonly reported, SAD is a distinct, diagnosed subtype of major depressive disorder first formally described in 1984 ( see criteria ). Key symptoms—lasting roughly four months each year—resemble common depression: fatigue, increased sleep, carbohydrate cravi...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

NCUA Issues 2026 Supervisory Priorities Letter to Credit Unions

Alexandria, VA (January 14, 2026)  ― The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) today announced its 2026 Supervisory Priorities, which continue the agency’s policy of “No Regulation by Enforcement,” while prioritizing safety and soundness. This policy underscores NCUA’s commitment to providing clarity and transparency in its oversight. The letter outlines NCUA’s priorities for the year and provides information to help credit unions prepare for examinations. This year, the agency will continue to focus on risk-based supervision, tailoring the examination scope to the credit union’s unique risk profile. Key Highlights of the 2026 Supervisory Priorities: Risk-Focused Examinations:  Examiners will concentrate on areas posing the greatest risk to credit union members, the credit union system, and the Share Insurance Fund. Balance Sheet Management and Lending:  With loan performance at its weakest point in over a decade, examiners will review credit risk management practic...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Are Credit Unions Serving First Responders Ready for the Coronavirus?

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow are credit unions serving first responders ready? Credit unions serving first responders will be a primary point of contact as first responders come off duty and into the credit union. ARLINGTON, Va.—How effective are credit union plans for addressing pandemics and business continuity?   It’s a question credit unions need to be asking right now as the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow. Death tolls this week topped 1,100, with a record 100 officially reported as getting sick in a day. The coronavirus has already surpassed SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in number of affected and killed. Experts told CUToday.info the growth of the coronavirus that CUs should be reviewing their pandemic and business continuity plans, which likely have not been visited since the SARS outbreak in 2002. “I think it's too early to tell what kind of impact the coronavirus may have here in the U.S.,” said NAFCU Vice ...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

What Could Tokenized Deposits Mean for CUs?

WASHINGTON—Noting that the FDIC has expressed support for tokenized deposits as insured bank liabilities, not experimental digital assets, a new analysis offers some insights into what that could mean for financial institutions, credit unions and the market in 2026 and beyond.  As PYMNTS Intelligence pointed out in its report, regulatory clarity reduces risk for banks moving from pilots to live deployments, and large banks and infrastructure providers are already testing real-world tokenized deposit use cases.  “At its simplest, tokenization converts an existing claim into a digital representation on a distributed ledger,” the report explained. “The underlying asset does not change, but the infrastructure that tracks ownership and settlement does. In banking, that distinction is critical. Tokenized deposits do not create new money. They represent traditional bank deposits, issued and redeemed by regulated institutions but designed to operate on modern, programma...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

A 10% Cap, A Busy Congress, And Big Stakes For Credit Unions This Week

WASHINGTON—Credit union trade groups entered the week in Washington closely monitoring developments after President Trump’s proposal for a nationwide 10% cap on credit card interest rates, even as Congress returns to work on funding, financial services reform, and digital asset legislation. Both the Defense Credit Union Council and America’s Credit Unions say the rate-cap proposal poses an immediate threat to consumers credit unions disproportionately serve, while a fast-moving legislative agenda could shape the industry’s operating landscape for years. DCUC President and CEO Anthony Hernandez said the defense-focused trade group mobilized within hours of the President’s announcement, warning the cap could sharply limit access to credit for junior enlisted servicemembers, young officers with student loan debt, and federal workers already strained by a potential shutdown. Anthony Hernandez Hernandez said DCUC began responding within hours, providing comments to the press Friday night an...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Leasing Set To Surge In 2026?—Credit Unions May Miss Out If They Don’t Move

  CINCINNATI—As credit unions look to revive auto lending in 2026 after a sluggish year, one lending tool may become indispensable: vehicle leasing. With new-car prices still historically high, negative equity rising, and manufacturers fighting for market share, leasing is poised for a major rebound this year—and credit unions that remain on the sidelines risk losing out on strong, recurring loan volume. That’s the message from Scot Hall, executive vice president at  Swapalease.com , who says the economic and market dynamics heading into 2026 are aligning in ways that make leasing not only attractive, but essential. “Prices are up and they’re not coming down anytime soon,” Hall said, noting that inflation, tariffs, supply volatility, and chip-related uncertainty continue to push vehicle pricing higher. “Leasing is a great way to combat that. It’s also a great way to get somebody out of negative equity in a relatively short period of time.” Market Conditions Are Setting the Sta...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Happy Fathers Day

From all of us at NCOFCU
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

IRS Issues Ruling on Federal Credit Unions and COVID Credit

WASHINGTON–The Internal Revenue Service has issued a ruling that credit unions can receive a 2021 COVID Credit, but not 2020. In other words, federally chartered CUs can’t claim the employee retention credit for periods in 2020 but can do so for periods in 2021, because later amendments to the terms of the credit made them eligible, according to the IRS. Specifically, FCUs can’t claim the credit for wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2021. The ruling was issued by the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in a newly released legal  memorandum . According to the IRS, FCUs are able to claim the credit for wages paid after Dec. 31, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2021, the IRS said. The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) – sometimes called the Empl...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»