Resources and Tips for Safe Payments with Zelle®
Review advice, updates, and news from West Gate Bank!
April 4, 2022
Digital payments (like Zelle®) continue to grow across the U.S. With issues like identity theft and other cybercrimes on the rise, it’s important to know what you can do to help protect yourself – and your money - when sending and receiving funds digitally. One of the easiest ways to protect yourself is to only send money to people you trust.
Here are some additional reminders that you can use to help protect yourself from a scam:
- Refunds are never issued through Zelle®. If somebody calls you and offers refunds via Zelle®, hang up the phone and call West Gate Bank at (402) 434-3456
- West Gate Bank will never call you to request information you received via text (SMS)
- Never provide your account number or personal information by email or text
- Don’t trust caller ID; Caller ID may be modified to show West Gate Bank’s name
- Don’t feel pressured to immediately provide information in response to requests via text, email, or phone. Reach out to West Gate Bank at (402) 434-3456 to confirm whether a request is legitimate.
- Don’t give information over the phone if you receive a call stating that a transaction is canceled, even if the caller claims to be from West Gate Bank. Once again, contact West Gate Bank directly at (402) 434-3456 to inquire about the transaction in question
- Never click on links in unsolicited emails or texts
- Never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer
- Enable Multifactor Authentication in your security settings for any accounts or services you use. Multifactor Authentication is a second login verification step that typically sends an access code to you via text or email. Examples of where this can be enabled are your email, social media accounts, online and mobile banking, credit cards, utilities and more
- Sign up for text or email account alerts: West Gate Bank offers customizable alerts for a variety of real time transaction and balance information. Contact West Gate Bank immediately if you suspect unauthorized activity
- Beware of public Wi-Fi: Using public Wi-Fi at your favorite neighborhood coffee shop may save you some gigabytes on your data plan, but it comes with security risks. If you choose to log into the coffee shop’s Wi-Fi guest network, make sure you refrain from logging into any secure sites such as your mobile or online banking
Think you’d never fall for a scam? Think again. Some of the most common scams take advantage of our most basic psychological needs and instincts, catching consumers unaware and costing them billions of dollars each year. Our partners at Zelle® produced these 5-minute videos to help consumers understand the psychology behind popular scam tactics and how to best avoid falling victim to them. Watch the Zelle® x Vox Explainer Series.