Identity Protection Resource Center
- Direct Federal will never call, email, or text you and ask for your Online Banking credentials or verification code. If you receive a communication that fits this description, please call us 888.2DIRECT.
- All Direct Federal cardholders are automatically enrolled in Transactional Fraud Alerts.
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What you need to know to protect yourself
Fraud Message
Direct Federal will never email you and ask you for personal information. Phishing is the most common method of cyber attack and occurs when the cybercriminal emails you and tries to get you to click a malicious link, reply with personal and confidential information, or download a corrupt file. These emails may have the Direct Federal logo, may have our name listed, and even look like they are coming from us.
Tips to look for:
- Spelling and grammatical errors
- Subtle typos in the sender’s email address (i.e. memberservice@dirctfederal.com)
- A link that leads to a different site than mentioned in the message. You can hover over the link to see the full URL that the link will bring you to
REMINDER: Direct Federal will never ask you to provide confidential information such as your account number, PIN, password or Login ID via email.
Fraud Call
Direct Federal will never call you and ask you for personal information. Vishing is similar to what we discussed above but it happens over the phone. The cybercriminal will use personal information they have previously accessed about you and call and pretend to be your credit union or bank. They will try to get you to reveal your username, password, or PIN.
Tips to look for:
- An unfamiliar or unknown caller ID
- A caller who claims to be a bank employee saying there is an issue with your account
- A caller who doesn’t answer your questions or provide additional information when questioned
REMINDER: Direct Federal will never call you and ask you to provide confidential information. If this occurs, please hang up and call back our main number—888.2DIRECT.
Fraud Website
Direct Federal will never text you asking you to conduct a specific transaction, click on a link, or download an app other than our mobile app. Cybercriminals will text you and try to get you to either call a specific number or do a specific action.
Tips to look for:
- Spelling and grammatical errors
- Sent from an unfamiliar number
- Contains an embedded link
REMINDER: Never reply or take action from unknown senders.
If you are concerned that any of these scenarios may have happened to you (clicked on a link from a suspicious email, downloaded an app from a suspicious text message, provided information to a suspicious caller, or inadvertently clicked on a link or called a number on a fraudulent website), please contact us so that we can review your accounts with you, and if need be, take steps to ensure they are secure.
We want our members to stay apprised of best practices in managing finances, and will continue to post updates regarding recent fraud cases in our community on our website. Should you have any questions, please call us at 888-2Direct.
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All cardholders are automatically enrolled in Transactional Fraud Alerts
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Our priority is to protect your personal information. When you return a fraud alert message, we will ask for the unique case # to your specific fraud alert.
You will automatically be enrolled to receive all fraud alerts via the contact methods on your account, ie., email address, cell phone, home phone, work phone, etc.
Your card may be blocked for use and future transactions would be declined until the fraud alert is cleared.
Please report the unauthorized transaction immediately by calling the phone number provided in the alerts or the number on the back of your card. The agent will then take care of marking the transaction as fraud and close the card.
When you mark a transaction as fraudulent, the response message you receive will include our fraud detection department’s toll-free number and it asks that you call to review the card activity, or you will receive a call from a fraud detection agent to review. The agent will be able to review the activity with you and clear the card for use.
Upon confirming that a transaction is valid, you may retry the transaction immediately.
Fraud Alerts are transmitted to the phone number(s) and/or email address associated with the card used at the time of the transaction. If a joint cardholder is receiving alerts, it is because that cardholder’s phone number and/or email address is associated with the card transacting. If the fraud alerts should have gone to another cardholder on your account, we ask that you update the contact information for that cardholder.
If you accidentally opted of out text alerts from a mobile phone, when the digital system calls to verify activity, the system will provide the opportunity to opt back into text alerts for the mobile phone. For all fraud alert types, please call the number on the back of your card to re-enable fraud alerts to an email address, a mobile phone or landline phone number. You can also visit a branch for assistance.
1. You can opt out of text alerts by replying “STOP” to the text message
2. You can opt out of phone calls when the alert system calls you.
3. Click on the Unsubscribe link in the email to stop the emails.
4. Contact our Call Center to ask to stop receiving fraud alerts.
5. Visit a branch to ask to stop receiving fraud alerts.
You can update your contact information by updating your account profile in Digital Banking, by calling Member Services, or by visiting our branch.
Any phone numbers that Direct Federal has in your records may be sent alerts.
If you are travelling within the U.S., you will receive phone calls, text messages and emails. If you are travelling internationally, you will receive emails. You will only receive text messages if your mobile phone plan allows you to receive them while traveling outside of the United States.
We will not transmit sensitive personal information through alerts.
Fraud alerts are sent to cardholders when potentially fraudulent transactions are detected on their accounts. We want to ensure that any questionable transactions were authorized by the cardholder.
Fraud alerts are automated phone calls, text messages and emails that are sent when potentially fraudulent purchase activity has been detected on a credit/debit card account. Messages are triggered by Direct's fraud detection system.
Text messages will be sent to cardholders in the 50 United States at no charge.
Customers with international telephone numbers will only receive emails. They will not receive text messages or phone calls.
Top 10 Security Tips
- Password protect your phone, tablet, computer.
Password protect your devices when not in use to prevent unauthorized access and to protect yourself in case your device is lost or stolen. - Create strong, unique passwords.
Passwords should be 8 or more characters long and include a combination of numbers, symbols and upper, and lowercase letters. - Use multi factor authentication.
Enable multi-factor authentication for each time your access online banking. Multicolor authentication is a method in which your device is granted access after successfully providing two or more pieces of information. - Don't keep your accounts logged in.
When you are done with online banking, log out. - Avoid banking on public Wi-Fi.
Public Wi-Fi isn't very secure. Avoid accessing online banking on public Wi-Fi. Save that for a secure network at home. - Don't access your online account from a shared computer.
Avoid accessing your Direct Federal account from a computer that is not yours or is a shared computer. - Don't provide personal or account information.
Direct Federal will not ask for you to supply personal information, such as your social security number or account number, via text or email. Be suspicious of any unsolicited requests for your information. When in doubt, contact Direct Federal immediately. - Don't provide your Direct Federal account or personal information via email.
Direct Federal will never ask for information like your social security number, account information, or credit card information via email. - Do check your Direct Federal accounts regularly for unauthorized monetary activity.
Make it a habit to check your Direct Federal account transactions frequently for any unauthorized charges or withdrawals. Report any fraudulent charges immediately to us. - Do report lost/stolen cards right away.
If your debit or credit card is lost or stolen, report it right away.