California Credit Union Aims to Create Scam-Savvy Members

When marking the second anniversary of opening its Fraud Center, the $9.7 billion Patelco Credit Union announced an ambitious mission in 2024: To cultivate scam-savvy members who can stop fraudsters in their tracks.

It appears the Dublin, Calif.-based financial cooperative, which serves nearly 500,000 members, is on the right track to achieve that mission. Since the Patelco Fraud Center’s inception in February 2023, the credit union said it has helped more than 7,000 members with fraud support and scam advice. What’s more, the credit union estimated it has saved nearly $20 million in losses from fraud in five months (August to December 2023).

Rina Johnson, vice president of marketing at Patelco, said the credit union created the one-stop comprehensive fraud protection site for members to quickly and easily access, especially when they get a suspicious phone call, email or text that can cause panic or fear and dupe them out of their money.

“Fraud is on the rise and scammers are becoming more sophisticated on who they target and how they target people,” Johnson said, noting that the online fraud center works as an essential resource to keep educating and reminding members how they can protect their money.

Newly-released Federal Trade Commission data showed that consumers reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud in 2023, marking the first time that fraud losses have reached that benchmark. That also marked a 14% increase over reported fraud losses in 2022, according to the FTC. The federal agency received fraud reports from 2.6 million consumers last year, nearly the same amount as 2022. The most commonly reported scam category was imposter scams, which saw significant increases in reports of both government and business impersonators.

Patelco’s Fraud Center features a team of fraud specialists who help members figure out if something is a scam before they give out any personal information or transfer money. Members can call a dedicated phone line to talk with a specialist or schedule an appointment with the credit union’s virtual branch.

Members who have been assisted by Patelco’s fraud specialists span a broad age range, with 45% of callers over 55 years old, 35% between 35 and 54 years old, followed by 20% between the ages of 18 and 34. While digital fraud is rising via text, email and other digital channels, 51% of members are engaging with the fraud center because of phone phishing scams or spoofed calls, according to the credit union.

The Patelco Fraud Center is regularly updated with new alerts and trends in scam awareness. These updates are important, Johnson noted, because they serve as a reminder for members to remain vigilant if they receive that unexpected call, email or text about their money.

“We continuously reinforce to our members that if your gut is telling you that something is up, then it probably is,” Johnson said. “Our main focus is to keep educating and reminding our members and to also do what we can to help them.”

The fraud center also includes information on how to keep your financial accounts secure, how to keep your personal information private, and what to do if you see suspicious activity on your accounts, or credit or debit cards, or if you become a victim of identity theft.

Patelco also published a fraud protection booklet and a second booklet on elder fraud protection, which are available at the credit union’s 37 branches. The booklets are also mailed to members.

Because the elderly can be an easy target for scammers, the booklet provides tips on how to keep mail secure, steps to take if mail fraud is suspected, information on sweepstakes and lottery scams, a breakdown of grandparent scams and photo examples of fraudulent text messages. The credit union also distributes pens with special ink that can prevent check-washing fraud.

What’s more, Patelco’s elder fraud booklet encourages members to complete a trusted contact form that enables the credit union to reach out to a trusted friend or family member to confirm a member’s current contact information, health status, contact information for other authorized parties, urgent or unusual account activity, or other possible red flags.

Patelco also maintains an internal fraud center that makes the latest fraud-fighting tools available for all of its team members. The site features fraud education materials, fraud news, risk alerts, victim resources, training modules and fraud success stories.

“When Patelco team members know about trending fraud activities, they can identify and help educate members,” Johnson said. “Additionally, Patelco wanted its team members throughout the organization to be aware of frauds and scams to ensure they do not fall victim themselves.”