Card Scams

What starts as a call about suspicious activity on your card quickly turns real.
Scammers start by impersonating the Credit Union, sparking concern of fraud and ask you to complete the following steps.

  • Cut up your cards, leaving the chip intact
  • Give your cut-up card to a courier
  • Validate made-up transactions

Once the scammers have your cut-up card, they can use the portion of the card containing the EMV chip to make big purchases. 

How to Protect Yourself

The best defense is knowing what real fraud prevention looks like and what red flags to watch for:

  • Real Fraud Centers will never ask for your full card number, PIN, or online banking credentials.
  • If you receive a call or text about a suspicious charge, do not provide any personal or account information.
  • Hang up immediately if you're unsure about the legitimacy of a call or text.
  • Call BMI Federal Credit Union to confirm whether a suspicious fraud center communication is legitimate.
  • Don't confirm charges you didn't make. 

What to Do If You Suspect You've Been Targeted

If you think you may have given your card information to a scammer or approved a fraudulent purchase:

  1. Place a temporary block on your card through our Card Management/Alerts tool.
  2. Call us immediately at 614.707.4000.
  3. Monitor your account for unauthorized transactions.
  4. Consider updating your Online Banking password and enabling multi-factor authentication for added protection.
  5. Report the incident to the Federal Trade Commission at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov.