Phishing: The IRS will never contact you by electronic communication channels, like social media, text messages, or email, to request personal information. Even if there were problems with your tax filing, the IRS still uses formal letters and a secure website.

Phone Scams: The IRS has seen a surge of phone calls from criminals impersonating IRS agents in recent years. Scammers threaten taxpayers with arrest, deportation, and license revocation, among other things. Again, the IRS will not use these methods.

Inflated Refund Claims: Taxpayers should be wary of anyone promising inflated refunds. Preparers who ask clients to sign a blank return, promise a big refund before looking at taxpayer records, or charge fees based on a percentage of the refund are probably up to no good.

Identity Theft Refund Fraud: This type of fraud happens when a scammer uses your identity and personal information to file and claim your tax return before you do, stealing your hard-earned money. Avoid keeping essential documents like social security cards in easy-to-access places, and be very careful when sharing personal information online.

Think you may be a victim of tax fraud? Contact the IRS immediately and provide all applicable information.

There is a consumer warning about a scheme involving Zelle®. Scammers are fooling consumers into using Zelle to transfer them money, resulting in lost funds.

Victims will receive an unexpected message from, what appears to be, their financial institution regarding a Zelle payment. After responding "No", they will receive a call that appears to be from their financial institution. They will inform the victim that someone has transferred the victim's money. In order to retrieve the money back, they must Zelle themselves back the money.

Scammers use caller ID spoofing to disguise themselves as a caller from your financial institution. They want to gain access to personal account information to steal money. Contact us right away about any suspicious activity. 

For more information and tips for safe payments using Zelle, please visit the Zelle's website. 

Members have received text messages from parties claiming to be their credit union or bank. In these texts, they are asked to call a telephone number that prompts them to provide personal or financial information. This includes account numbers, card numbers, social security numbers, etc. While the Credit Union may occasionally send text messages asking you to contact a specific person or a department, the Credit Union will never... 

Ask you to provide your account or card information to an automated system.
Ask you to leave confidential information on a recording.
Ask you to visit a website other than www.mpscu.org.  

The checks look so real that, at times, employees in financial institutions are fooled. Some are phony cashier's checks or money orders; others look like they're from legitimate accounts. The companies whose names appear in the check may be genuine, but scammers create counterfeit checks without a company's knowledge.

If you sell goods online, do not accept a check and never wire money to a stranger. Think twice and question the legitimacy of checks from unknown senders. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Do not communicate with the sender if you believe you have received a fraudulent check. Contact us right away. 

In this type of scam, the victims are told that they qualify for a loan, but they must pay a fee to process the application. Commonly, victims are told to pay the fee using a reloadable debit card or send cash through a service such as Western Union or MoneyGram. Once the payment is received, the scammer walks away with the money, leaving the victim without a loan.

Caller ID spoofing scams involve tricking individuals into thinking a call is from a legitimate source by altering the displayed caller ID information. Scammers use this tactic to gain trust and deceive people into sharing personal, financial, or device access information. By posing as financial institutions, government agencies, or reputable companies, they exploit familiarity to manipulate victims. To stay safe, always verify callers independently and avoid sharing sensitive information without proper verification.

If you receive an unexpected Amazon package with a QR code, it could be part of a scam. Scammers may send random packages to boost seller rankings or trick you into scanning the code, which can lead to phishing websites or malware. To protect yourself, don’t scan any QR codes or enter personal information. Check your Amazon account for unauthorized activity, and report the package to Amazon if needed. Stay alert and protect your personal information from potential fraud.