Banks and credit unions throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho are cautioning customers after seeing an increase in fraudulent account activity over the last few months.
Some precautions taken at Fibre Federal Credit Union in Longview caught a local customer by surprise last week.
Tamara Norton, a 40-year customer of Fibre Federal, saw her account shut down last week after making local purchases on things like gas and groceries. Unsure of what was causing the trouble, she went to Fibre Federal and had her card looked at for issues.
Norton said her account was locked after Fibre’s fraud detection deemed the activity suspicious. Luckily, she said, there were no real fraud charges but she was locked out of her account without notice.
Norton said she has had to get a new card in the past due to a risk of account exposure, but that she hasn’t been locked out of her account before.
“Because of (the uptick) they have gone the other way about watching accounts,” Norton said. “They’re trying to be so careful it seems to be interrupting.”
Norton said she was told by a Fibre Federal employee the company has recently hired a third party to help monitor for fraud and that the company lost around $125,000 last month to fraud transactions.
Heather Snyder, a spokeswoman for Fibre Federal, said she was unable to confirm specific numbers or dollar amounts regarding the fraud increases.
Cowlitz County cardholders were affected in December after a rash of account hacks were made possible by ATM skimmers. Now, area financial institutions including Red Canoe Credit Union and Fibre Federal Credit Union are taking precautions to protect customers from fraud in a time when technology like ATM skimmers and computer hacking is becoming more common.
Snyder said this week that the credit union couldn’t confirm a dollar amount lost to fraud in the last month, but that the company is seeing an unusual uptick in fraudulent transactions at a frequency she hasn’t seen before.
“It seems to be coming from all over,” Snyder said. “(There has been) a number of skimming devices on ATMs throughout the region ... and breaches with various companies. It is by no means exclusive to Fibre Federal, Red Canoe or any other financial institution.”
Snyder said it seems that any consumer with a credit or debit card could be affected. The best way for a customer to protect their money, she said, is to regularly monitor accounts and anticipate expenses.
Fibre Federal and Red Canoe have partnered on a few fraud awareness efforts like public service announcements on the radio, mailing postcards with anti-fraud tips and putting up signage in their buildings to increase awareness.
“If we see something unusual with transactions, we will try to reach out and make sure that it’s (the customer),” Snyder said. “We do offer a free mobile app for debit and credit cards.”
Snyder said using the app can be a first line of defense for customers, because it lets them turn off their cards remotely.
In some cases, a card or account will be shut down by the financial institution instead of the customer, but Snyder said that would only happen in a pressing situation. She also said Fibre Federal will almost always try to contact the customer before doing so.
“We take a number of steps to educate our members,” Snyder said, adding that the company is looking into an anti-fraud seminar in the near future and that Fibre Federal’s website also has tips for account protection.
