March is Fraud Prevention Month. Conexus Credit Union is sharing tips that the public can use to avoid being scammed.

Mark Millham, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer with Conexus Credit Union, says it’s important to remember the three ‘R’s when thinking about fraud.

“The first one is recognizing when fraud might be occurring. It’s best to understand what type of fraud’s happening in the environments that you are in to help you understand what might be happening. The second ‘R’ is around rejecting. If there’s any doubt at all, or if you have any kind of gut feel that maybe this conversation or email chain is not legitimate, just hang up, stop that communication immediately. Which leads into number three, reporting any fraud that’s suspicious. You’re better off to make a phone call, have financial institution, Conexus, do a little bit of research for you than to fall victim to something because you did not want to report it.”

He adds that the recent merger with Synergy and Cornerstone Credit Union’s could be used by fraudsters in their scams.

“I think the important thing to know with the merger specifically is that Conexus, Cornerstone and Synergy members will all continue to bank with their credit unions the same way they always have. So if they see something, an email or phone call, that they have to do something differently because of the merger, that is immediately a red flag that something is happening that shouldn’t be. In those instances absolutely reach out to us as soon as possible to let us know what’s happened.”

Millham says that scammers often ask victims to lie to their banks.

“If anyone ever asks you or someone you know to lie to a financial institution about why you’re withdrawing funds, this request should be viewed as a big red flag and report it to the financial institution, probably even the police, as soon as possible.”

Millham adds that while banks may seem nosey when asking for a reason behind withdrawing a large amount of money, it is largely done to prevent fraud.

Some other tips to prevent fraud include not sharing one-time passwords, being vigilant during times of change, knowing that romance and investment scams are often linked and reporting anything suspicious.