Fraud Alert

Members have reported receiving suspicious phone calls requesting to validate their personal information and debit card or to provide their card number. The calls originated from a spoofed Lōkahi FCU phone number. Do not respond to these requests.

Be suspicious of calls posing as security employees, card companies and their fraud services, or other suspicious entities requesting for you to update, change, or provide personal information about your debit card, passwords, and other secure information.

As a reminder, Lōkahi Federal Credit Union will never ask for your personal or financial information or ask for you to provide your debit card number.

Also, closely monitor your card statements and accounts and report any unusual activities or discrepancies as soon as possible.

Fraudsters are obtaining property address, ownership, and lien holder information from public information sources such as local conveyance/deed and property tax records to scam homeowners into purchasing illegitimate products or services, or to obtain your personal information. These scammers offer homeowners with unnecessary services such as home warranties, recorded deed notices, protection insurance and other “urgent and time sensitive” offers.

Please know that financial institutions such as Lōkahi FCU do not share these types of information with non-affiliated companies. You may even notice a disclaimer that specifically states that “All information provided is not affiliated with, sponsored by, and loan information not provided by Lōkahi (or Hickam) Federal Credit Union." We recommend that if you receive such offers in the mail, please do not respond to their request for contact and securely discard the mail piece.

Here are a few examples:

With the tragedies unfolding on Maui and Hawai'i Island, scammers are taking advantage of the crises to create fraudulent fundraisers. If you are looking for opportunities to donate or to help these communities, please use vigilance when selecting a charity. The Department of the Attorney General Hawai'i shared the following tips to avoid falling for donation scams:

1. If you donate, donate to trusted, well-known charities. Beware of scammers who create fake charities during natural disasters. Always verify a charity’s legitimacy through its official website. If someone is fundraising on behalf of a charity you are familiar with, the best practice is to donate directly to that charity.


2. Verify that the charity is legitimate. Any charity that solicits donations in Hawaiʻi must be registered with the Department of the Attorney General, and its status can be verified here. There are also several independent online sources you can use to verify that a charity is legitimate, including the following:
   • IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search: https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/
   • Charity Navigator: https://www.charitynavigator.org/
   • DCCA Business Search: https://hbe.ehawaii.gov/documents/search.html 
3. Stay away from suspicious donation requests and be mindful of the following scammer’s tactics:
   • Rushing you into making a donation. Don’t let anyone rush you into making a donation. Take your time to do your research.
   • Asking you to make a donation using cash or a gift card. Most legitimate charities will accept credit card and check donations.
   • Using names that sound a lot like the names of real charities. This is one reason it pays to do some research before giving.
   • Scammers make lots of vague and sentimental claims but give no specifics about how your donation will be used.
     

If you have any questions or complaints regarding a scam charity, please contact the Tax & Charities Division at 808.586.1480, or send an email to [email protected].

The Honolulu Police Department is warning the public about credit card skimmers that are illegally installed at self-checkout registers, ATMs, and gas stations. These skimmers are attached to the actual card reader and will transmit credit and debit card information to thieves when a card is used.

Although the skimmers may look real, here are a few ways you can check.

• At self-checkout areas and gas stations, compare the card reader to neighboring terminals. Does the panel look different?
• Real card readers are usually more sturdy whereas card skimmers may be loosely installed and/or sticking out at a weird angle. If you are suspicious of the card reader, try wiggling it to see if it can easily come out of place.
  

If you believe a card skimmer has been illegally installed, notify an employee immediately.

Our Recommendations

• To prevent your card information from being skimmed, add your Lōkahi FCU Debit and Credit Cards to your phone's mobile wallet. By doing so, you can safely pay by tapping your phone to the terminal and bypassing the card reader. Click here for more information regarding mobile wallets.
• If you are unable to use a mobile wallet, use the tap-to-pay feature by tapping your card at the terminal.
• Check your financial accounts and monitor your credit regularly. Utilize Lōkahi FCU Online and Mobile Banking to view your accounts and credit score. Click here for more information regarding Online and Mobile Banking.

If you notice fraudulent charges and suspicious activity on your accounts, please contact us.

Fraudsters posing to be from Lōkahi (or Hickam) Federal Credit Union are sending fake SMS text messages. If you receive a SMS text message appearing to be from Lōkahi (or Hickam) FCU Fraud Department verifying transactions and text “You Will Be Receiving a Courtesy Call Reply “OK” Once Received This Message. Msg & data rate may apply” and you receive a call,  DO NOT give sensitive information such as your account number, debit/credit card number, PIN number, expiration date of the card, 3-digit security code, online banking passwords, or personal information. Lōkahi FCU will not contact you to ask for this information.

If you receive a suspicious call or text message  Contact us directly at (808) 423-1391.

Here is an example of a fraudulent text message compared to a real Lōkahi (or Hickam) FCU text message: 

Reminder, if you are contacted by Lōkahi (or Hickam) FCU Fraud Prevention Department for your credit or debit card, please remember we will never ask for your Social Security numbers, PINs, or OTPs (one-time passcode). If the caller is asking for these type of information, hang up immediately and contact us. In addition, you should never respond NOT FRAUD to fraud alerts you did not perform, regardless of who instructs you to do so. Please continue to be diligent with your account monitoring and management, as this is the first line of defense when it comes to stopping fraud.