Liberty First Credit Union will be closed on Saturday, October 31st, to complete our system upgrade. Online Banking will be unavailable as early as October 29th until November 2nd. You can pre-enroll in the new system now at https://banking.libertyfirstcu.com/enroll.
Please note, local authorities require all individuals inside a venue to wear a mask. It is our expectation you follow the local guidelines.
Fraud is constantly increasing. To help prevent yourself from being a victim, you should be cautious, educate yourself on the current scams and know what steps you can take to protect yourself.
When it comes to identity theft, you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim or not. It is among the fastest growing crimes in the country. The results can be financially and psychologically devastating to the victim. But, there are certain steps you can take to minimize your risk.
Think twice before providing personal information
Don't give out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you have initiated the contact or are sure you know who you're dealing with. Identity thieves are clever, and have posed as representatives of credit unions, banks, Internet service providers (ISPs), and even government agencies to get people to reveal their Social Security number, mother's maiden name, account numbers, and other identifying information.
Treat your mail and trash carefully
Deposit your outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you're planning to be away from home and can't pick up your mail, complete the U.S. Postal Service Online Form to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive it.
To thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash or recycling bins to capture your personal information, tear or shred your charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you're discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail.
Don't carry your Social Security card with you. Leave your card in a secure place and only give out your Social Security number when absolutely necessary. Before giving out your number ask if other types of identifiers would work. If your state uses your Social Security number on your driver's license, ask to substitute another number. Do the same if your health insurance company uses your number as your policy number.
Order a copy of your credit report. An amendment to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies:
Source: Federal Trade Commission. For more information and helpful tips, visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft/.
Liberty First wants to make sure you have all the protection you need when it comes to your personal information. We are proud to offer our “Protect” checking account add-on for our members.
The monthly fee of $6 for Kasasa account holders, $10 for all other checking account holders, is automatically deducted from your checking account, so no additional checks to cut, lapses in coverage, or due dates to remember.
Call us to add this feature to your checking account today or click here to learn more
If you suspect your personal or financial information has been compromised, take the following steps immediately:
Important: If you receive a phone call, email, text message or visit to your place of business that you question, please contact us before taking any other action.
If your LFCU MasterCard Check or Credit Card is missing, lost or stolen, please notify Liberty First immediately at 402-465-1000. In the case of a stolen card, you will want to notify the police department as well. Call 1-800-472-3272 or 800-262-2024 to report your losses 24/7 if you are in the US. If your card is lost or stolen while outside of the US please call 973-682-2652.
One of the ways we keep your account secure is via our Card Fraud Center. The primary tool they use to protect you is temporarily blocking your card when suspicious transactions occur. If this happens, we will immediately begin trying to contact you to verify the activity. Here is how the process works:
When suspicious transactions are detected, you will first receive a phone call from the Card Fraud Center listing a few of your most recent transactions and asking if the transactions were made by you or not.
If the Fraud Center is unable to reach you then a representative from Liberty First Credit Union will attempt to reach you by phone. If we are unsuccessful we will send an email to the address we have on file asking you to call us. We will not ask you to verify any information via email.
At any point in this process, you can respond and let us know whether the transactions were authorized by you. If the transactions are valid, your card will work immediately after you respond, and no further action is required. If the transactions are fraudulent, your card will remain blocked, and you should receive a call from a Fraud Analyst shortly after you respond to review your case and advise you on what to do next.
Because your card will remain blocked until we receive a response, it’s crucial to keep your contact information up to date. Please contact us to update your address and contact information.
A few important things to know to avoid compromising your personal information:
A compromised card is a card that is at risk of being used fraudulently. Cards can be compromised in many ways, but some common compromise points include merchant breaches, phishing scams, skimmers, and malware.
Liberty First takes every compromise seriously and affected customers will receive notification if their card information has been potentially compromised. Notifications will be in the form of a mailed letter. The notification will provide information on the compromise and information on replacement card(s).
No. It only means that your card information has potentially been compromised.
If you ever detect fraud on your account, contact us immediately at (402) 465‐1000.
The information encoded on the compromised card pertains strictly to the card, potentially including the card number and expiration date. Confidential information such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, addresses and dates of birth are not stored on the card.
Traveling Outside of the United States: Notify Liberty First Credit Union when you will be traveling out of the country. This will keep the us from suspecting fraudulent activity and potentially blocking your card. Also, be sure all of your contact information, including email, is correct so we can contact you if needed.
If you use a “0”(zero) as the first number in your PIN you should consider resetting your PIN. Zero’s as the leading digit are not always recognized in many foreign countries. To reset your PIN call 800-992-3808.
Traveling Outside of Your Residing State: Make your United States vacation worry free! Simply use your debit card for a few PIN based transactions along your travel route and when you arrive at your destination. This process will help let our Card Fraud Center know you are the one using the card.
Sign up for mobile or online banking: Utilize Liberty First’s mobile banking app to view your daily account transaction activity. This will make it easier to manage your spending while you're away and help you keep an eye out for “odd” transactions.
Activate CardValet®: This app that gives you the ability to manage your debit card usage through your mobile device by giving you the control to set how, when and where your card is used. Learn more here.
Overdraft Protection: Set up a Liberty First Automatic Transfer Authorization sweep between your savings account and your checking account so a transfer will automatically happen if an overdraft occurs. Or, apply for Liberty First’s personal line of credit which gives you the advantage of making yourself a loan when you need it most.
Check your cards:
Make Copies: Photocopy your credit, debit or pre-paid card(s) and passport details, and keep the copies in a separate place to the originals.
Vacations are for relaxing, not worrying about lost or stolen debit and credit cards. Carrying a prepaid TravelMoney® Card is safer and is accepted worldwide. Plus, there is a free CUMoney® mobile app which allows you to manage your card from anywhere in the world!
Visit with a Liberty First team member or call 1-833-729-2853 for more information.
Additional service fees may apply. Please refer to the CUMoney® Visa TravelMoney® Card Cardholder Agreement before purchase.
With the holidays closing in, it's a good time to review some travel security tips:
TRAVEL SAFE!
Fraudsters continually find new ways to trick innocent people out of money or personal identifiable information. Click here to learn about common techniques and warning signs.
We encourage you to stay vigilant about checking your account and to sign-up for alerts. Using our CardValet® App you can easily monitor your cards for unusual activity and turn your card off should you notice something strange. If you do notice unusual activity, give us a call immediately at 402-465-1000.
The FBI put out a public service announcement regarding Tech Support Fraud and how to protect yourself from it. Read the full article and get tips on what to look for and what to do if you are a victim of fraud.
Use A Different Password For Every Website You Visit. Using the same password for more than one website or service may seem to make things easier, but consider what happens if a hacker gets your password from a site that you use. Soon the attacker will have access to all of your sites. If remembering all of those different passwords is a problem, consider using a password manager as mentioned below, or a technique known as Password Haystacks.
Create unique passwords. Don't use your date of birth, social security number, or recognizable words. Try to use one with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols and make the password as meaningless as you can remember. The more original you are the better. According to password management company SplashData, the top three passwords of the year are "123456,” "password” and "12345678", please avoid these ones.
Try a password manager. Applications such as LastPass, Dashlane, and Norton Identity Safe, allow you to store your passwords in one place, and secure them using just one, really good password. They also have great utilities for helping you generate truly secure passwords, as well as test the passwords that you're using.
Set up two-step or two-factor authentication. Two-step authentication asks you to sign in with your password, and then add a second sign-in - a numeric code sent by text, e-mail, or a phone call. That way, even if your password is stolen, the attacker cannot access your account without your phone or email account, too. Many services such as Google and Facebook offer two-factor authentication.
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