How to fight fraud and stay scam-savvy

Scenario: Impersonating an FBI agent or other official investigator, the scammer claims to be investigating a financial institution’s security practices. They may threaten the member with face jail time or other penalties for not complying.

Scam: The member is asked to withdraw funds (usually while prohibited from communicating to staff) and deposit funds at a bitcoin ATM.

How to recognize the scam: Investigating officials would never ask you to withdraw funds. Check the phone number or preview the link they send you.

What to do: Hang up and contact Elevations to notify us of the scam.

Similar scams: Scammers may impersonate Elevations, a government agency of third-party tech support in order to access your funds or information. Be suspicious of these requests.

1. Advanced fraud monitoring technology 

2. Financial wellness webinars and seminars(opens in a new window) 

3. Education through our blog(opens in a new window) 

4. Employee fraud training 

5. Dedicated fraud team 

6. Online banking alerts and notification capability

Prevent your team members from falling victim to scams with a seminar led by an Elevations fraud expert. Choose from one of these sessions: 

• Financial fraud prevention 

• Identity protection 

• Elder fraud prevention 

• Online protection for teens 

Sessions are completely free and can be hosted online or at your workplace, school or church.  

Smishing, or phishing via SMS, is increasingly common and sophisticated. Here are several ways to stay safe, courtesy of Detective Sophie Berman, digital forensic examiner at the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office: 

1. Be skeptical of unsolicited texts, especially those asking you to click a link or give personal information. Only contact an organization using a known, official number or website. 

2. Don’t click on suspicious links, as cybercriminals often use these links to redirect you to fake websites or install malicious software on your device. 

3. Use two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever you can, especially all your financial accounts. This adds security in case your login credentials are compromised. 

4. Report smishing to your mobile carrier, the legitimate organization being impersonated and other organizations, such as the Internet Crime Complaint Center,(opens in a new window) FBI(opens in a new window) or your local law enforcement agency. Delete the messages after reporting and screenshotting them.