Transaction alerts, stronger passwords, and updating your personal information. These are 3 easy ways to keep your account secure and improve your account safety. Unfortunately, individuals in the United States have had their personal information compromised by big data breaches, phishing, identity theft, and other cybercrimes. Your security and account safety are one of Pearl Hawaii’s top priorities. To protect yourself even further, please do these 3 tips.
TIP 1 | TRANSACTION ALERTS
Secure your accounts by setting up transaction alerts through PHFCUOnline and Pearl Wallet. With alerts, you will be alerted immediately to transactions on your accounts.
PHFCUOnline Alerts
Once registered and logged in, click on the icon that is in the top righthand corner of the window (cogwheel- desktop, silhouette picture – app) and click on alerts. From this screen, set up the alerts you want. Signing up only takes a few minutes of your time and after that, you will receive an alert when there is a specific activity on your account. If you notice an alert that you did not conduct, contact Pearl Hawaii immediately to freeze your account before additional fraud is committed.
CUSTOMIZE YOUR TRANSACTION ALERTS
You will be able to monitor all your accounts or selected accounts. Customize your alerts so you can choose which transactions you want to be notified about and how you want to be notified. PHFCUOnline will send you a SMS (text) message or email or both.
With PHFCUOnline, you can customize your transaction alerts in several ways:
- Email address has changed
- Phone number changed
- Change ID or password
- Alert Preferences Changed
- Delivery Method Changed
- Username or Password Changed
- PIN Enabled
- PIN Disabled
- Settings Changed
- Profile Information Changed
- Transfer above a set dollar amount
- Failed Scheduled Transfer
- External transfer above a set dollar amount
Additionally, you can customize which account gets the alerts you want.
- Available balance below a specified amount
- Current balance below a specified amount
- Available balance above a specified amount
- Current balance above a specified amount
- Credit transaction above a specified amount
- Debit transaction above a specified amount
- Daily balance(s) at a specified time
- Transaction description contains a keyword that you specify. For example, a deposit or payroll company.
PRO TIP: What should you do if you receive a suspicious alert?
Never give out any personal information through email or text messages. If the alert asks you to call, click on a link, or enter any personal information – it is fraud. Pearl Hawaii will never ask for personal information by text or email.
If the alert seems real but you’re unsure, call us at 808.737.4328. If the message turns out to be a scam, report it to the Federal Trade Commision at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
IMPROVED FRAUD ALERT SYSTEM
At Pearl Hawaii Federal Credit Union, we’re serious about protecting you from fraudulent activity on your accounts. That’s why we’ve strengthened our defenses with an automated system that can identify threats faster, notify you sooner, and equip you with the tools you need to take immediate action against fraud. Previously, you would have only received a personal call from a live agent if fraud was suspected. The new system allows you to receive an automated call that easily walks you through reviewing suspicious activity on your card. You may also receive Automated Fraud Alerts text messages on your mobile phone. We will also send a fraud alert via email and text.
You may receive Automated Fraud Alert messages in the following ways.
- Text/SMS message from 919-37
- Email from FraudAlertsNoReply@phfcu.com
- Call from 888-918-7313
For further details and examples of messages that you may receive, please visit Card Fraud Alerts.
PEARL WALLET
Pearl Wallet is Pearl Hawaii’s customizable card solution. Cardholders can review their card transactions, set alerts, develop controls, make payments, report a card as lost or stolen, and add or remove the cards they wish to manage.
Alerts will be sent as SMS text messages to the phone number that is on your profile. If you enable alerts, please make sure a valid phone number that can receive text messages has been added to your profile. You may receive your alerts at the email address that is on your profile if the service that delivers text messages is temporarily unavailable.
TIP 2 | USE SMART PASSWORDS
Remember to choose a strong password that’s easy for you to remember but difficult for others to guess. When creating a password, you should consider the following:
- Never use personal information such as your name, birthday, username, or email address. This type of information is easy to obtain, which makes it easier for someone to guess your password.
- Choose a password with many characters. Your password should at least be 8 characters long. If you choose a password that is even longer than 8 characters, it gives you added security.
- Don’t use the same password for each account. If your password is compromised, all of your other accounts will be vulnerable.
- Include numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters.
TIP 3 | MAKE IT EASY FOR PEARL HAWAII TO CONTACT YOU
Make sure the contact information is current. This includes your email address, mobile phone number, and address. In the event our fraud monitoring systems detect fraud on your account, we can contact you immediately.
- CHANGE OF ADDRESS
- Send us a message through Secured Messaging. Just log into PHFCUOnline and click on Secured Messaging (bottom left on your desktop or click on the hamburger menu from your app).
In today’s innovative, technologically advanced world, we need to be vigilant in protecting ourselves from fraud. By taking the steps above, you are one step ahead of most.
USEFUL LINKS
- To learn more about identity theft fraud safety visit ID Theft Center.
- If you think you’ve been a victim of identity theft, contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 877-IDTHEFT (438-4338) or visit the Federal Trade Commission’s site to learn more.
- If you believe your Social Security Number is being used fraudulently contact the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213.
- It’s a good idea to get a copy of your credit report each year from each credit-reporting agency. You can get a free credit report yearly from the Annual Credit Report website at annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228 where you will go through a simple verification process over the phone. It is important that you obtain and review a copy of your credit report once a year to make sure your information is accurate.
- For financial literacy, check out Upgrade| our blog or our financial education page.
- To file a complaint about a suspected fraudulent email, contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
MORE AT PEARL HAWAII
- What Is Identity Theft?
- Guard Against Multi-Factor Authentication Scams
- Beware of Romance Scams
- What is Financial Elder Abuse? Understanding Finacial Exploitation
- Improve Account Security With Transaction Alerts
- Your Account Security & Regulation E
- Protecting Yourself From Social Media Scams
- The Art of Social Engineering
- Protecting Yourself From Online Crime | Phishing, Smishing, and Vishing
- Online Security For Your Accounts
- Pearl Wallet | Protect You And Your Cards
RESOURCES
- Internet Crime Complaint Center
- Federal Trade Commission
- 10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud
- FTC: Privacy, Identity & Online Security
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Scams Targeting Taxpayers
- Tips for Safe Gift Card Use: Retail Gift Card Association
- ftc.gov
- identitytheft.gov
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- The Department of Justice