Northern Nevada residents should be aware that there are several scams going around of fraudsters trying to steal personal information from Financial Horizons Credit Union (FHCU) members through phone and text messages. The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office became aware of it through one of its employees and would like everyone who has an account with FHCU to be extra vigilant when sharing their bank information.

In one of the most common and recent scams, fake Financial Horizons Credit Union representatives will call and try to obtain debit or credit card information. These imposters will call from a number spoofed to appear like it is coming from Horizon and the person at the other end of the line will say that your card has been compromised or flagged for fraudulent use. The imposter will then say that a new card will be sent rush delivery but will want to confirm their account information, asking for:

• The full credit or debit card number

• The CVV code on the back of the card

• The expiration date

• Online or mobile banking credentials

• Other personal or sensitive information

Then after obtaining this information, they load the stolen card into their own mobile wallet and within minutes can max out the credit card limit or empty a checking/savings account.

Financial Horizons would like to remind its customers that it will never ask a person to provide their full card number or online login credentials (since they already have that on file) and if they do receive a suspicious call, then immediately hang up and call Financial Horizons directly at 1-800-558-3424.

Things that people can do to protect their accounts include:

• Setting up and actively checking online or mobile banking accounts

• Updating and using strong hard-to-guess passwords

• Never sharing personal information on social media (even posting about the first concert you attended, your first car, your favorite food, your first pet, and the last purchase you made can compromise your account)

Horizon Credit Union has four branches in Northern Nevada located in Yerington, Fallon, Winnemucca, and Hawthorne. For more information about its services or to access your account(s), visit www.fhcunv.org.