In 2024, Americans lost more than $12 billion in fraudulent schemes.
Fraudsters continue to get smarter and more persistent. They use technology and prey on emotion to trick people into sharing their money and their personal information.
It’s easy to fall for their scams, because they put a lot of time, effort and research into figuring out ways to trick people. However, the more educated you are about potential scams, the more likely you are to be able to protect yourself from fraudsters.
Here are some of the common scams targeting credit union members in 2025, along with some helpful tips you can use to protect yourself.
Voice Scams
AI technology and the proliferation of social media have made it possible to use short voice clips to impersonate someone.
If even a few seconds of audio are available on a social media video clip, it’s possible for fraudsters to feed that clip into an AI generator and use it to record fake voice messages saying they are in distress and asking for money.
28% of individuals surveyed said they had been targeted by a voice scam this past year. An even higher percentage of people said they were unaware this type of scam existed.
How to Protect Yourself
If you receive an unusual voicemail or voice note from someone who claims to be a friend or family member, stop and consider the situation.
- Does this sound like the person you know?
- Is this the way they’d usually communicate with you, or would they be more likely to text or reach out in a different way?
- Can you contact them through a different method of communication to verify what they need and whether they are actually in a crisis situation?
Physical Card Scams
Even though there are many high-tech ways to perpetrate scams, old-fashioned techniques persist.
For example, many consumers have been reporting physical card scams, in which someone calls or visits their home and says they need to collect a card that is expired or has been compromised. They often come armed with very specific information that they’ve pulled from a credit report, so they sound knowledgeable about their target’s finances.
In this situation, the request is so surprising that some consumers fall for it, handing over their still-functioning card and giving the scammer free access to their funds.
How to Protect Yourself
Never hand your card to anyone. Keep it in your possession and keep it safe. If you are tricked into giving someone access to your card, call or go online and report it lost/stolen as quickly as possible to mitigate the havoc the scammer can wreak on your finances.
“Helpful” Problem Solvers
In this scheme, scammers pretend to be a helpful person, someone you can trust. They may pretend to be a police officer, a representative from your bank or credit union, or a fraud investigator.
They then prey on their victims by making them believe they are part of the investigation and that they can share helpful information. They build trust with the victim, all the while capturing more of their personal information.
For example, a consumer recently reported that she received a scam call in which they tried to persuade her they were legitimate by guessing where she had a direct deposit coming from (probably because her employer was listed online) and that she had a loan with a specific financial institution (which they acquired from her credit report). Fortunately, she knew to end the conversation but the amount of research the scammers did was impressive and kept her on the phone longer than expected because she was worried about how much they knew.
They may even tell you NOT to report the issue to anyone else because it’s part of an ongoing investigation, all the while capturing your information and draining your accounts.
How to Protect Yourself
Remember, your credit union will not reach out to you and ask you for sensitive account information. If someone does this, even if they say they are trying to protect or help you, it’s a scam.
Get out of the conversation as quickly as possible and report it, especially if you are concerned that you may have shared too much information.
Tax Scams
Tax scams are particularly prevalent during the tax season, when scammers exploit a sense of urgency and fear to get people to share their information.
Because taxes can be complicated and confusing, and because people are afraid of the impact of the IRS (a government entity), fraudsters take advantage of that uncertainty and use that fear to trick people into providing access to their funds or personal information.
This scam can be presented through two different tactics:
- On one side, scammers may try to intimidate you by pretending to be from the IRS and demanding that you make a payment immediately or face fees or even jail time.
- On the other side, scammers may say that you’ve earned a refund and need to share your account details to have it deposited.
In both scenarios, they get access to your accounts so they can drain them of funds.
How to Protect Yourself
Use a reputable tax preparer to manage the tax filing process, and be suspicious of anyone else reaching out to you with questions or information about your taxes. You can also set up an account on the IRS website so you can monitor activity on your tax/personal accounts.
The Bottom Line: Protect Yourself and We’ll Help Protect You
Our credit union team works daily to protect members from the impact of fraud, but the best fraud prevention starts with you. Be vigilant in monitoring your accounts and protecting your information. If you see something that concerns you, reach out.
Don’t be worried or embarrassed - fraud attempts happen to everyone. The most important thing is to make sure if you are tricked, you communicate and move quickly to reduce the potential impact to your identity and finances.