Trust us to help protect you from scams
December 18, 2023
With scams and fraud at an all-time high, we want you to know we’re committed to being your trusted financial partner and want to help protect you—and your loved ones—from fraud.
Unfortunately, scammers will often convince victims to lie to their financial institutions to keep transactions a secret. No legitimate business or person will ever ask you to do this. The good news is RCU team members are trained to recognize signs of a potential scam, and we may ask you about certain transactions to verify they’re legitimate. Understand that our intent is not to make you uncomfortable; we do it because we care about protecting you and your hard-earned money.
One prevalent method of fraud is the “Phantom Hacker” scam. Scammers pretend to be tech support, bank employees, or government officials, falsely informing victims that their financial accounts have been compromised. They’ll ask for your passwords and other personal information, promising to rescue your accounts and recover lost funds. Or they’ll direct you to transfer your money to a “safe” third-party account, which only the scammers can access. Again, they’ll tell you to lie to your financial institution about the transactions in order to hide their tracks. Remember: if someone is telling you to lie about your money, it’s a scam.
Learn to recognize the tactics Phantom Hacker scammers use to get your private information:
- Scammers will pressure you to urgently provide information like security passcodes, account and personal information, or money.
- Scammers will try to get information from you with a false story about a friend or family member in trouble, or by impersonating an RCU employee or even law enforcement.
- Scammers can manipulate Caller ID, emails, text messages, and even website login screens to make you think they’re from trusted companies and people you know.
It’s important to remember: RCU will never contact you and ask to you to confirm your online banking username, password, card number, or six-digit verification code.
We’re here to help you stay vigilant and protect your information. If you have questions or think you may have been a victim of fraud, please report it to RCU’s Fraud Department at 1 (800) 479-7928 or contact us online. We also hope you’ll consider sharing your story with friends and family to help them protect themselves. We all need to work together to shine a light on fraudulent activity.
Learn more at RCU’s Fraud and Security Center.
PPP Forgiveness Application Deadline
Congress passed The Economic Aid Act which changed the deferment period from 6 months post covered period to 10 months post covered period. For example, if your covered period ended June 30, 2021, under the new guidelines the earliest your first loan payment wouldn’t be due until April 2022, and you have until then to request forgiveness. Please use the following calculation to help you identify when your forgiveness will be due:
- PPP borrowers may select a covered period anywhere from 8 weeks to 24 weeks.
- RCU is automatically calculating your loan due date based on a 24-week covered period, if you intend on using a shorter covered period please inform us immediately as this will impact your due date.
- Your correct deadline will be reflected in your online banking account.
If all or part of your PPP loan is not forgiven, your first loan payment will be due the first of the following month after a decision is made by the SBA.
Leaving Our Website
You are leaving our website and linking to an alternative website not operated by us. Redwood Credit Union does not endorse or guarantee the products, information, or recommendations provided by third-party vendors or third-party linked sites.