Fraud Alert! Get a call from U.S. Bank? Let the Card Services Team know ASAP.
Occasionally, our card provider, U.S. Bank, will contact cardholders directly about possible fraudulent activity on their cards. Recently, two Iowa State University cardholders received a call from U.S. Bank customer service…
BUT it wasn’t U.S. Bank customer service. These cardholders had become victims of account takeover fraud.
Account takeover is a form of identity theft where a malicious third party attempts to access a user’s account credentials. In one case, the fraudster had attempted transactions that U.S. Bank declined. The fraudster then called the Iowa State cardholder, spoofing the U.S. Bank customer service phone number, to gain information about the cardholder and their account. The fraudster then called U.S. Bank customer service, identified themselves as the cardholder, and attempted to have the block on the account lifted so they could complete the fraudulent transactions.
If you receive a call from U.S. Bank customer service:
- Say please let me confirm this with my Card Services Team and End the call.
Call 515-344-5696 (the number on the back of your card) to be sure you’re speaking with U.S. Bank customer service. - Do not share your personal or card information on any call you didn’t initiate.
- Report the call to the Card Services Team (cardservices@iastate.edu or 515-294-7024).
The Card Services Team monitors activity through U.S. Bank fraud prevention and we will reach out to you if we learn that your account has been flagged for possible fraudulent authorizations.
In the cases of the two Iowa State cardholders, the fraudsters were unable to overcome the security protocols at U.S. Bank. The employees accounts were flagged for possible account takeover, the Card Services Team closed the accounts, and new cards were issued to the employees.
Please continue to be diligent in securing both your personal information and Iowa State card information from these and other financial threats. We will continue to keep you updated on the latest fraud attempts and scams, so you know what to be on the lookout for, but your diligence and communication with the Card Services Team are critical in helping to prevent fraud on Iowa State University credit cards.