CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi woman said she was nearly scammed by someone claiming to be from her credit union and she’s warning others to stay alert.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, told KRIS 6 News she received a phone call from a number that looked exactly like Rally Credit Union’s customer service line. The caller said they were from the fraud department and began asking personal account questions, including whether she had made two large online purchases.
“They asked me if I had made two purchases," the woman told Neighborhood News Reporter, Alexis Scott. "One of them was $1,200 from Amazon, the other was $800 from Booking.com. It surprised me that all they needed were the last eight digits of that card number.”
She hung up, realizing something wasn’t right. Later, she learned that a family friend who received a similar call lost $5,000 to the scam.
“These scam artists are being creative,” the woman added. “They are very sneaky.”
She said she called Rally Credit Union to verify the call, and a customer service representative confirmed the credit union had not contacted her and advised her not to return the call to the fraudster.
KRIS 6 News reached out to Rally Credit Union and other financial institutions in the Coastal Bend. They all confirmed they have not seen a recent spike in member complaints, but they are familiar with spoofing schemes like this.
Rally Credit Union officials said one of the most common questions they receive from members is, “How did the scammers know I bank with Rally?” The answer, they said, often comes down to probability.
Because Rally is one of the largest financial institutions in South Texas, with more than 250,000 members, fraudsters use phone number databases linked to local area codes and make mass calls in hopes of reaching a customer.
“They usually don’t know where you bank,” the spokesperson said. “They’re just playing the odds and in a large market like this, the odds are in their favor.”
Other financial institutions, such as CoastLife Credit Union, said they have fraud prevention protocols in place, including fraud questionnaires, to help members identify and report suspicious activity.
CoastLife CEO Gina Prince-Bryant said scam attempts are becoming more common and more sophisticated.
“Numbers can be spoofed where it looks like the call is coming from the credit union, when in essence, it’s not,” Bryant said. “So it’s always best to call back a number that you’re familiar with, not one that you’re given.”
What to Watch For
Rally and CoastLife Credit Union both urge customers to follow these safety tips:
- Never give your Social Security number or online banking login over the phone.
- Do not click on links in suspicious text messages. Go to the bank’s official website instead.
- Legitimate institutions will never request payment via gift cards or prepaid cards.
- Never share a secure access code sent to your phone. If someone asks for it, it's a scam.
- If you're ever unsure, hang up and call the number on the back of your card.
Rally Credit Union also added it uses secure channels to communicate with members, primarily through its online banking system. The credit union will never ask for your user ID, password, or remote access to your device over the phone.
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