By Kelley Monson
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union
As we recognize Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it’s important to remember that today’s scams are growing more advanced, more personal, and more convincing than ever. Criminals now use AI-powered deepfakes, synthetic identities, real-time payment fraud, and highly targeted phishing to steal sensitive information. The best defense is awareness, vigilance, and smart online habits.
Quick Tips to Protect Yourself & Accounts
- Pause before responding to any “urgent” message.
- Never share passwords, PINs, or one-time authentication codes.
- Verify directly with Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union by calling us at: (315) 781-1334.
- Monitor your accounts and enable alerts and card controls in Digital Banking.
- Report suspicious activity immediately — time is critical.
- Use strong passwords, and don’t repeat the same password throughout many different websites.
Recognize the Red Flags — Know What Fraud Looks Like
If you know what fraud schemes to anticipate, you will be better prepared in remaining calm and not playing into the fraudster’s traps!
Common schemes to watch out for:
- Social-Engineering Scams
Scammers send “urgent” messages pretending to be family, law enforcement, or trusted organizations – including the Credit Union. Their goal: to collect personal data such as your date of birth, Social Security number, banking details, and security codes, or bait you into sending funds immediately.
How to Avoid the Trap:
Pause, stay calm, think, & don’t take the bait. Don’t reply to the email. Hang up the phone. Raise your defenses and remain suspicious. Log in directly to the site to verify the concern. Use a publicly available phone number to call the entity directly. Block suspicious senders and delete the message.
- Phishing Scams
Fraudsters send emails, texts, or even pop-up messages pretending to be from trusted sources — including making their calls, texts, and emails to look like the Credit Union, other banks and credit card companies, government agencies, and major retailers. These messages often create a sense of urgency (“Your account has been locked!” or “Your subscription renewal failed!”) and include links or attachments designed to steal your login credentials or install malware.
How to Avoid the Trap:
Pause, compose yourself, think, & don’t take the bait. Don’t reply to the call, text, or email. Hang up the phone. Never click on links in emails. Raise your defenses and remain suspicious. Call the Credit Union directly. We will never ask for your password, security codes, authentication codes in-person, over the phone or by email. Therefore, once you are asked for this – you are most likely talking to an imposter posing as someone trying to help you.
- Romance Scams
Fraudsters build fake online relationships through dating sites or social media to gain trust — then ask for money for “emergencies,” travel, or investments. They often promise to meet in person but always find a reason to delay.
How to Avoid the Trap:
If someone you’ve met online asks for money or gift cards, it’s a red flag. Stop communicating and block this individual and any of their contacts. Consult with the Credit Union before sending money!
- Deep Fakes & Voice Cloning
Scammers gather online video and audio of a family member from social media sites, then using AI tools can reassemble fragments to create their own seemingly urgent, desperate call to you. There is terror in the fabricated voice of your loved one – paired with an immediate ask for money to be sent, and a request not to tell anyone else about it.
How to Avoid the Trap:
This call is designed by its nature to be upsetting (taken hostage, arrested, involved in an accident, etc.) Gather yourself and confirm information first. Call and check on the family member directly and check in with other family members. Don’t take the bait and have them walking you through an instant person to person payment over the phone, or worse yet, giving them the security codes.
- Synthetic Identity Theft
When fraudsters have gleaned enough information from you, they can create an ID with your information, and put their picture on the fake driver’s license or passport to open a banking account or apply for a loan with hopes for creating financial gain for the criminals.
What you can do:
Turn on a credit report freeze (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) as well as ChexSystems to block new account inquiries.
- Online Fraud
A growing trend in online fraud threat involves fraudsters creating fake businesses, fake social media profiles, and fake sales opportunities (concert tickets, pet adoption, etc.) to sell you a fake product that appears legitimate to “harvest” your debit or credit card information, or to bait you into making an irretrievable instant person-to-person payment using Cash app, Venmo, Zelle, Apple Cash, PayPal, etc.
How to Avoid the Trap:
Do your due diligence first. If the deal sounds too good to be true, it is probably “scam bait” in disguise. Check seller ratings or go to their website. How long has the profile been in existence? Do the seller’s pictures look too generic or all just too perfect? Is the seller’s information missing some important information?
🚨If Something Doesn’t Feel Right — Act Fast
Time is critical. The longer suspicious activity goes unnoticed, the harder it may be to recover funds or stop the damage.
What the Credit Union will do for you:
- Freeze affected cards or accounts and begin an investigation.
- Help you change passwords and enable additional monitoring.
- Provide next-step guidance, including law-enforcement reporting if needed.
- Keep you updated throughout the process.
What you should do:
- Monitor your transactions frequently.
- Save all messages or details related to suspicious activity.
- Change your login and PIN immediately if compromised.
- Freeze your cards in Card Manager within Digital Banking.
- Call us directly at (315) 781-1334.
✅ The Bottom Line
At Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union, protecting your financial well-being is critically important to us. While the fraud landscape can feel daunting, remember — you have control:
- Remain cautious and alert – and be suspicious when someone unexpectedly asks you for money, your personal or banking information, or security codes.
- Pause before reacting to unexpected requests for money or information.
- Use strong passwords, and don’t repeat the same password throughout many different websites. Change passwords in response to any danger.
- Use our security tools. Monitor your accounts closely and enable alerts and card controls. We also provide a credit and dark web monitoring service.
- Contact us quickly if something seems off.
Together, we can reduce risk and keep your finances safe and accessible whenever you need them.
Thank you for trusting Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union with your financial journey.
Stay safe. Stay aware. And bank smart.
About the Author
Kelley Monson, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Kelley leads cybersecurity initiatives and related staff training at Finger Lakes federal Credit Union and has spent 18 years strengthening member safety and operational excellence. She holds a Master of Science in Cybersecurity, is a Credit Union Management School graduate, and a Certified Credit Union Executive.