Anticipated Surge in Consumer Fraud During the Upcoming Holiday Season

As the busy holiday season approaches, consumers may become more distracted by shopping, donating, or sending money online. This distraction can result in overlooking common red flags that fraudsters use to exploit individuals and steal their hard-earned money. Typical scams include fake websites and apps, phishing emails and texts about package deliveries, and impersonation scams that involve tactics such as demanding payment through gift cards or using AI to create counterfeit advertisements or impersonate legitimate services.

For most people, the holidays are about giving, receiving, and goodwill. However, some malicious individuals take advantage of this spirit of generosity by targeting unsuspecting consumers with scams.

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Here are some tips to help you protect yourself from fraud:

- Be aware that caller ID can be easily manipulated.
- Ignore emails from unknown sources.
- Think carefully before sharing your personal information.
- Safeguard your online data.

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Visit panhandlecu.org/fraud-prevention for more insight.

Contact us at (850) 769-3306 or mail@panhandlecu.org

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Note: When emailing inquiries to the credit union, please do NOT include any sensitive/confidential information as email is an unsecure communication method.

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