Is That Really a Text From My Credit Union?
There has been a significant rise lately in phishing scams. These are text messages or emails that attempt to get your personal information. This rise is due in part to improvements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) software, which becomes more sophisticated each day.
Businesses are using AI to help improve their customer service wait times, for instance, by using Chatbots to answer consumers’ frequently asked questions online. Unfortunately, fraudsters are also using this tool to help their “business.” Their techniques have become so clever that it’s getting harder to tell whether or not the text or email you receive is really from a business you use frequently or even from your credit union.
Before AI, scam emails and texts had common tell-tale traits: mangled sentence structure, poor grammar or spelling, etc. Today, scammers can give software instructions to generate an email or text in perfectly written English in the format needed, like a legal document, utility bill, or message from your credit union.
To protect yourself from scammers trying to access your credit union account, be suspicious of any text or email that:
- Comes from an unknown number, claiming to be from the credit union, telling you there is a problem with your account.
- Asks you for your personal, confidential information. This includes your online banking username, password, one-time passcodes, Social Security number, account number, debit or credit card number, PIN or CVV.
- Uses scare tactics or claims to be “urgent,” requiring you to act immediately to avoid disaster.
- Asks you to transfer money via a link in the message.
If you do receive such a request, do not click or respond to it. Call us immediately at White Sands FCU to let us know. Then take a screenshot of the message and send it to us. You may also want to report it to law enforcement or the FTC. Then delete the message and block the sender. If you did click on a link or replied to the message, call us immediately so we can check and secure your account.
Contact Us
Call Center:
(575) 647-4500 or
Hours of Operation:
Monday thru Friday, 8 am-5 pm
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 99
Las Cruces, NM 88004
Routing & Transit # 312276470
Federally Insured by NCUA
Your savings federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency.
Equal Housing Lender
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Law and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
White Sands Federal Credit Union is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience in accordance with the WCAG 2.0 standards and guidelines. We are actively working to increase accessibility and usability of our website to everyone. If you are using a screen reader or other assistive technology and are encountering problems using this website, please contact us at 575-647-4500 or 1-800-658-9933. Please provide the location of the inaccessible information. All products and services available on this website are available at all White Sands Credit Union branch locations.