The post office is still delivering loads of mail each and every day. Fewer personal cards and letters after the proliferation of email, but still plenty of stuff.
Ads for house washing.
New carpets.
A sale announcement for windows and / or siding.
Then there are the smaller-ticket items. Each week we receive a set of coupons. Local stores, national chains, things I don’t want or need.
Random letters from credit unions.
Wait, what?
A year ago, I saw a return address from an affiliated credit union*. The kind where you have to be in a certain group of people to join. Like the Plumbers Union or whatever. I wasn’t a member of this particular group, so I just pitched the letter.
A few weeks later, another one arrived. This time I opened it. The letter honestly looked fairly official. I think I’m onto how email scams work, but this was a hard copy letter, so I carefully read and reread.
It was asking me to set up direct deposit of my paycheck so I could take full advantage of the checking account I had opened.
To be safe, I didn’t call any phone numbers in the letter. I Googled the credit union and called its main customer service number.
It had happened again.
Two years earlier, I was the victim of identity theft. Someone stole my information, opened a credit union credit card and took off with around $10k. It took me a few months to figure out what happened and, gratefully, after a police report and a few phone calls, the account was closed without me having to pay.
Even though I did not lose any money out of pocket, my credit rating took a hit. Now I watch that religiously for any new lines of credit.
But a checking account?
It was clear the crooks planned to trick me into having automatic funds deposited so they could go on a shopping spree. No way was I moving any money into an account I didn’t originate!
When I called, the credit union* advised the account had already been marked as fraudulent. I wish I knew how they figured that out without my input, but I’m thankful.
Now I have everything locked down as much as possible. I unsubscribe and delete emails and texts that I am not 100% positive about.
I open every bit of mail and look through it.
Open your junk mail, folks.
*I purposely did not name the specific credit union because you know….fraud.