Fraudsters are using various methods to obtain personal information and carry out identity theft attempts. These are the most common ways cyber criminals attempt to get information:
- Phishing: fraudulent emails and websites meant to steal data.
- Vishing: fraudulent phone calls that induce you to reveal personal information.
- Smishing: fraudulent text messages meant to trick you into revealing data.
Phishing
The most common method is phishing. It is an attack that attempts to steal your money or your identity by getting you to reveal personal information — such as credit card numbers, bank information, or passwords — on websites that pretend to be legitimate. Phishing is a popular form of cybercrime because of how effective it is. Cybercriminals have been successful using emails, text messages, and direct messages on social media or in video games, to get people to respond with their personal information. The best defense is awareness and knowing what to look for.
How to Recognize a Phish Attempt
Here are common ways to recognize a phishing email:
Urgent Call to Action or Threats
Whenever you see a message calling for immediate action take a moment, pause, and look carefully at the message. Are you sure it’s real? Slow down and be safe.
Generic Greetings
An organization that works with you should know your name.
Grammar/Spelling Errors
Common words that are misspelled or contain obvious grammatical errors may be an indication that the email is not legitimate.
Mismatched Email Domains
If the email claims to be from a reputable company but the email is being sent from another email domain, it’s probably a scam. Place your cursor over the sender’s email to reveal the sender’s actual email address.
Tips to Help Protect Yourself Against Scams
- Do not open suspicious links or unexpected attachments.
- Keep your personal information updated- if you have changed your phone number or if you moved, please promptly update your new information on file.
- Always contact Slavic401k by calling our main number (800) 356-3009 or our fraud prevention number (855) 356-3009.
- When you search for financial companies you do business with online, make sure you are visiting the correct company’s website and not a fraudulent website. For instance, if you search for Slavic401k on Google, make sure you are on Slavic401k.com before trusting the website. Fraudsters can create similar sites and phones that look almost like the real company’s website. Look for the grammar and “https” at the beginning of the website. “https” means the website is secure.
- Report any suspicious activities in your accounts and monitor your online accounts regularly. Look for any unfamiliar changes to your account like a contribution rate change, personal information, or any transactions that you did not request.
- Only login to websites when using a trusted device on a private network.
- Do not share your passwords/credentials with anyone. No real financial provider will ever ask you for them over the phone.
- Use a unique strong password. Do not re-use the same passwords on multiple websites.
- Select security questions that only you can answer.
- Install and maintain antivirus software on computers and mobile devices.
How to Report Suspicious Activity
To report fraud or a suspicious activity on your Slavic401k account, please call our Fraud Prevention team at (855) 356-3009 and leave a detailed voice message. A member of the Fraud Prevention team will return your call within two hours during normal business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET
