Fraud, Family, and Looking Out for One Another

Hi Deer Creek Neighbors!  I’m Heather Converse, Vice President of Compliance and Manager of the Fraud Team at Communication Federal Credit Union. I’ve been with the credit union for 10 years, and I have more than 25 years of experience in the financial crime and fraud arena.

Helping prevent fraud and support victims has been my life’s calling. I want to share my passion for helping others avoid the stress, loss, and confusion that fraud can unexpectedly cause. I’ve witnessed scams stopped just in the nick of time, and I’ve aided people after the fact who never expected it to happen to them.

Today, fraudsters and their tactics look very different than they did even a few years ago. We live in an age of evolving AI, voice cloning, deepfakes, email, social media, and fake websites. These same platforms that entertain us, inform us, help us connect, and make life easier can also be used to deceive and confuse.

Fraud is rarely obvious, and it almost always comes as a surprise. Smart, savvy, capable people fall victim every day, not because they weren’t careful, but because scammers know how to create urgency, fear, or trust.

For example, we recently saw a case where a grandmother received a call from someone she believed was her grandson, claiming he had been arrested while traveling and urgently needed help. The caller sounded convincing and pressured her to send payment in cryptocurrency to resolve the situation quickly.

In another situation, a woman was contacted on social media by someone she believed was an old high school friend. What started as friendly conversation gradually turned into an online relationship, and over time she was persuaded to send more than $25,000 before realizing the person was not who they claimed to be.

Many families in Deer Creek are balancing busy lives while also watching out for aging parents. That makes awareness especially important. One of the best ways to reduce risk is simply knowing what to watch for and talking with each other about it.

Common warning signs of scams include:

• Pressure to act immediately
• Pressure to keep the situation secret
• Requests for payment by gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or payment
  apps
• Text messages, Emails, or calls that appear to be from a trusted source but feel
  “off”
• Unexpected notices about account problems, deliveries, or investments

Perhaps ironically, the most powerful fraud-prevention tool is good old-fashioned conversation. Talk with your family. Encourage parents to pause and verify. Share tips from your financial institution’s website and emails. Remind kids that not everything online is real. And let each other know it’s always okay to ask questions and verify everything. As technology continues to evolve, fraud will too, which makes education, awareness, and open conversation more important than ever for families and communities like ours.

As we prepare to open our newest branch in Deer Creek, we’re excited to become part of your neighborhood. Fraud prevention works best when we look out for one another, and we’re here to help whenever something doesn’t feel right. We look forward to meeting you soon.