Account fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation. Each year, millions of Americans have their identities stolen by criminals who use a victim's identifying information to commit financial fraud. At Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, we have multiple safeguards in place to prevent and detect account fraud before it happens, but ultimately, it is your knowledge, awareness, and alertness that are important to defending yourself. Understanding how identity thieves operate is also a key to avoiding account fraud.

Understanding how identity thieves operate, as well as the careful and diligent safeguarding of your account information, are two important keys to preventing account fraud. Your confidential information should never be treated casually, and you should never provide it to any unknown party. Account numbers, credit and/or debit card numbers, receipts, personal identification numbers (PINs), computer passwords, Social Security Numbers (SSNs), as well as any other personal information such as IDs, are some of the most valuable commodities you own. Protecting them will protect you.

Identity thieves use virtually any method they can to trick you into revealing private information. Some of the more popular types of account fraud are:

• Phishing
• Vishing
• SmiShing
• Pharming
• ATM tampering

It is important to keep in mind that because you are a member of Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, we already have all of your personal information. We will never contact you to obtain that information via any means, including e-mail, telephone, mail, instant or text messaging, etc.

Click on the links below to learn useful information about:

• How to safeguard yourself
• How we protect you
• The USA Patriot Act
• What to do if you do fall victim
• Valuable resources available to you