Fraud Prevention Tips to Protect Your Accounts
- August 5, 2026
- CoVantage Credit Union
Summer may be winding down, but fraud prevention and account security are always in season. At CoVantage Credit Union, protecting your personal and financial information is a top priority. Use these simple fraud prevention tips to help safeguard your accounts, protect your credit, and reduce your risk of scams and identity theft.
Review Your Financial Statements Regularly
Stay vigilant by reviewing your account statements each month and monitoring your accounts frequently through MyCoVantage online and mobile banking. Quickly identifying unfamiliar transactions can help limit potential fraud and prevent small issues from becoming bigger problems.
Protect Your MyCoVantage Login Credentials
Keep your MyCoVantage username and password confidential. Fraudsters may attempt to obtain this information through phone calls, text messages, emails, or social media scams. Remember, your online banking credentials are never required for someone to deposit money into your account.
Keep Passwords and PINs Private
Create strong, unique passwords for your online banking and financial accounts, and update them regularly. Consider using a password manager to securely store your login information. Never share your passwords, PINs, or one-time verification codes with anyone.
Enable Account Alerts
Set up account alerts to receive notifications about important account activity, including large transactions, login attempts, balance changes, and other account updates. Alerts can help you respond quickly to suspicious activity and unauthorized transactions.
Monitor Your Credit with Credit Sense
Regularly monitoring your credit can help you spot signs of identity theft before significant damage occurs. CoVantage members can enroll in Credit Sense through MyCoVantage online and mobile banking for free. Credit Sense provides access to your credit score and credit report, along with credit monitoring alerts that notify you of significant changes, such as new accounts, inquiries, address changes, delinquent accounts, or fraud alerts. Reviewing your credit regularly is an important part of protecting your financial health.
Consider Freezing Your Credit
A credit freeze, sometimes called a security freeze, restricts access to your credit report and makes it more difficult for criminals to open new accounts in your name. If you believe your personal information may have been compromised or you want an added layer of protection, you can place a freeze with each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Keep in mind that if your credit is frozen with TransUnion, you may need to temporarily lift the freeze before using Credit Sense.
Verify Unexpected Requests
If you receive a phone call, email, text message, or other request claiming to be from CoVantage and you're unsure whether it's legitimate, contact our Member Service Center or visit your local branch before taking action. Never click suspicious links or provide personal information unless you've verified the source.
Stay Alert to Fraud and Scams
Scammers are constantly developing new tactics to access personal and financial information. Common scams include phishing emails, smishing (text message scams), fake account alerts, and impersonation attempts. By monitoring your accounts, protecting your online banking credentials, monitoring your credit, and verifying suspicious requests, you can help keep your money and personal information secure.
Fraud Prevention Starts with Awareness
Taking a few proactive steps today can help protect you from financial fraud tomorrow. Regular account monitoring, strong passwords, credit monitoring, and understanding your options for credit freezes are all important tools in safeguarding your financial future.