HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Earlier in May officials with Redstone Federal Credit Union say that Morgan County investigators have arrested 18 people in connection with fraud perpetrated against the financial institution.
This hits very close to home for Huntsville resident Jessica Fortune Barker who said she has four bank accounts at Redstone Federal Credit Union. Fortuner Barker also has bank accounts at four other banking institutions. Unfortunately, Redstone is the only banking institution she continues to experience this frequent reoccurrence. "I've really been experiencing a lot of fraudulent activity on my accounts, and I do have several accounts with Redstone."
Fortune Barker continued that she faces this situation at least three to four times a year. "An it's not happening on just one account. 'm at the point that is frustrating. But, when I reached out and I said something on social media, the overwhelming response of other community members who also are impacted by this same thing causes me alarm."
Redstone Federal Credit Union Vice President of Security and Investigations Jonathan Kirby shared that sometimes when it comes to these fraudulent acts Redstone isn't the first to to blame. Data breaches of other merchants can be a major cause. "Well, card fraud is always an issue because you hear about merchants that may not secure their database like they should or, you know, we hear about scammers on gas pumps. Unfortunately, impacts all of our members because their data is out there."
Kirby explained they take these matters very seriously and adds another thing to note. "We use proprietary software and tools to identify those suspicious activities and then we'll reach out to the member and ask them if it was them that did the transaction."
Fortune Barker said she also has bank accounts at four other banking institutions, and unfortunately, Redstone is the only institution she experiences this frequent reoccurrence. "They're more reactive where the charge actually clears your account and then they do something about it to credit it back. And my question is, Redstone, what are they doing as an institution to be proactive in stopping these charges from actually hitting their members accounts?"
Kirby shared some answers. "You can set up your debit card or your credit card to restrict certain transactions. So, for instance, if you never go online to perform transactions, you can take online off of the available transaction choices. We would encourage people to choose complex passwords. Most importantly, "... it's really important that people watch their account and make their financial institution aware of any suspicious activity or unauthorized activity."
One of the easiest ways for customers to prevent fraud is to keep a regular eye on your accounts and report any charges you don't recognize or other types of unusual activity immediately. In the case of RFCU accounts, members should call 1-800-234-1234 or email info@redfcu.org.
Across many financial institutions, depositors are usually not held liable for unauthorized or fraudulent charges.
If you confirm fraudulent activity on your accounts, you should also alert the major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) and request a temporary freeze. This prevents any further fraudulent activity - for example, accounts being opened in your name - from happening. Remember to contact the credit bureaus again to deactivate the freeze once your accounts are back in good order.
The Federal Trade Commission has a list of tips you should take if you become the victim of any type of fraud or scam.