Fraud & Consumer Alerts

We have members reporting that a fraudster is spoofing our phone number and pretending to be a member service representative requesting private account information via text and phone. Please be mindful and never give out your online banking credentials or click any links within a text or call. If you are ever unsure, hang up and call us at the number listed on our website – (540) 663-2181.

It has recently been discovered that counterfeit NSWC FCU Official Checks may be in circulation.  If you can answer yes to any of the below questions you may be inadvertently involved in a scam or are being scammed.

1. Have you received a NSWC Federal Credit Union Official Check? All official checks should now come from Topside, not NSWC.
2. Does the check have one of the following signatures?
3. 
4. Is the Official Check information handwritten? 
5. Does the seven-digit check number begin with 308 or 302?
6. Is the return address something other than PO Box 519, Dahlgren, VA, 22448? 
7. Is the City and State of the Credit Union listed as Ashburn, VA?
8. Did you receive a NSWC Federal Credit Union official check after communicating with someone via email in reference to a job posting or the sale of an item?
9. Have you been asked to deposit a portion of the funds, keep a portion and then return a portion via money gram, western union, wire or other methods?
10. If you were selling an item online was the amount of the official check more than the amount that you were selling the item for?
11. Did the official check arrive via US Mail, FED EX, UPS or DHL either unexpectedly or from someone different than the person you have been communicating with?

If you are able to answer yes to any of the above questions, please contact Topside at 540.663.2181 to verify your official check.  If you cash or deposit a fraudulent official check, your financial institution may seek full payment from you.  At Topside, our goal is to protect your best interests.  Your assistance in helping us prevent the spread of check fraud is greatly appreciated.

Risk Alert from CUNA Mutual Group

Fraudsters continue to target members of credit unions using Pay a Person transfers by using a sophisticated scam to defeat 2-step authentication (also referred to as out-of-band authentication), which leverages the use of one-time passcodes. 

According to the NCUA Office of Consumer Financial Protection, analysis by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network indicates that elders face an increased threat to their financial security by both domestic and foreign actors.

This issue is important because studies show that financial exploitation is the most common form of elder abuse, and yet only a small fraction of incidents are reported. Additionally, NCUA’s research reveals that estimates of annual losses to older adults have ranged from $2.9 billion to $36.5 billion.

How can seniors protect themselves from these increased threats to their financial security? Credit Unions like Topside FCU can help protect older members by:

• Providing members with financial literacy education and financial counseling services
• Having a trained staff to detect and report elder financial exploitation
• Using NCUA and other federal resources and guidance to improve credit union programs and policies

For tips and more information, visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s resource section on their website dedicated to helping older adults protect themselves from financial exploitation. Members can also contact us or visit our Financial Education page on our website for financial resources and information. This is just one of the many perks of your membership with Topside Federal Credit Union.

It is important that you take every effort possible to protect yourself from malicious malware infecting your mobile device.  Some forms of malware monitor your phone for the launch of a targeted mobile banking application and then inject a phishing layer over the legitimate applications’ user interface.  Next it displays a fake login to steal your online banking credentials.  Malware can even defeat the multi-factor authentication by intercepting SMS messages delivered to you with a one-time pass code.   With this information the perpetrator has gained full access to your online banking account!