Information on how to keep your account information safe and avoid from being a
victim of fraud. The lastest bulletins and scams:

Protect Yourself Against “Skimming”
Skimming is a crime you don’t hear about very much, unless you happen to work in
a merchant location. It occurs most often in situations where your Debit or Credit
card is out of your sight during a transaction. By learning more about skimming and
how it works, you can help protect yourself from becoming a victim.

What is skimming?
Skimming is one of the many methods used by criminals to obtain information from valid
Credit or Debit cards. This information is then used to create counterfeit cards.

How does skimming work?
The crime of skimming is typically committed by a dishonest employee at a merchant
location. A customer’s card is swiped through a small, hand-held device that records such
critical information as the card account number, expiration date and cardholder name. With
information like this, a criminal can create fraudulent cards that are then used to make
purchases. Skimming is most commonly carried out at a restaurant or a full-service gas
station. Both of these are situations in which your card could be taken out of your sight
by an employee to process your transaction. However skimming is by no means limited to
these industries. Any time your card is out of your sight in a stranger’s hands, the
possibility exists that your account information could be “skimmed.”

What you can do to protect yourself and your Texasgulf Federal Credit Union cards
Preventing skimming is really a battle that is best fought by the merchant who is trained
to observe employees and be on the lookout for suspicious behavior. But there are protection
measures that you can take to keep yourself and your Texasgulf Federal Credit Union cards
safer from this crime.

Pay at the pump whenever possible
This keeps your card in your hands. If you are unable to do this, you should consider
patronizing only one or two gas stations, so you can become familiar with the owner
and employees.

Pay at the cash register when you dine out
Most of the time you have the option of bringing your check up to the register, rather
than letting the wait staff handle your card. Even if you know your server, chances are
your card will sit unattended at some point while it is out of your sight. A criminal needs
only a few seconds to take the skimming device out of a pocket and run your card through.

Reconcile your monthly statement to check for any unauthorized transactions
This should be part of your routine anyway, since it is your first line of defense against
identity theft. If your card information is stolen and used for illegal purchases, you will
see entries on your monthly statement for purchases you didn’t make.

Your Texasgulf Federal Credit Union Credit or Debit Card is protected by the
“zero liability” policy. This means that you will not be financially liable for
unauthorized purchases if you have taken reasonable steps to protect your card.
But you won’t know about unauthorized purchases if you don’t check your statement
each month. It only takes a short time if you establish a system and do it regularly,
and it goes a long way toward protecting you against card fraud.