Top 3 EPPICard Scams and How to Protect Yourself

EPPICard is a prepaid debit card, generally issued under the Visa or MasterCard brand that is used by various states to send funds from alimony, unemployment and other benefits to beneficiaries. The convenience of the card is that the funds are automatically loaded onto the card, making it easy for recipients to access their funds. All EPPICards are managed by Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), which is owned by Xerox, but each state has a contract with a bank to issue its own card. Recently, EPPICard cardholders have been targeted for fraud, prompting several states to issue fraud alerts to their cardholders. However, the problem persists and the scams continue to grow in complexity. Here are the top 3:

1. Phishing emails

Phishing emails involve receiving an email requesting that they log into your account and verify the status of the account. There is usually a link in the email asking you to click to verify your account information. Once you click on the link, it takes you to a bogus site where your account information is illegally captured while you are trying to log into your EPPICard account.

To avoid this scam, do not respond to suspicious emails that ask you to verify your account information. If the email appears to be legitimate, please call your EPPICard Customer Service to confirm before clicking any link to check your account status.

2. Fraudulent charges on the card

This type of fraud occurs when thieves obtain a person’s EPPICard information and start spending the funds on the card. In most cases, the entire EPPICard balance is used up before the cardholder realizes the problem. The New Jersey Star-Ledger documents a recent example where a Newark, NJ cardholder’s account information was illegally obtained and used to purchase items at Staples in Washington DC totaling $ 600. The cardholder learned of the illegal transactions when the card was denied when attempting to make a purchase. That led her to verify her card transactions, which led her to discover the fraudulent purchases. These types of fraud are difficult to combat, even if the cardholder can prove that they did not use the card. Therefore, it is important to protect the information on your EPPICard.

To avoid this type of fraud, do not log into your EPPICard account from public computer stations, such as libraries and Internet cafes. Also, be careful when using free public Wi-Fi to access your account information. Also, monitor your transactions with EPPICard and practice disposing of strong financial records, including destroying your statements and other confidential financial documents instead of throwing them away.

3. Text message fraud

Text message fraud is the newest form of EPPICard fraud, where cardholders who have signed up to receive balance alerts through their mobile phones receive text messages believed to be from EPPICard to entice them to deliver sensitive personal information, which is then used to deplete your account funds or in the case of social security information and date of birth, used to perpetrate identity theft.

To avoid this type of fraud, always hesitate when you receive any communication, be it by text message, email or telephone asking you to verify the status of the account or to provide confidential information to confirm the status of an account. The best way to handle these types of requests is to call the card issuer’s official customer service number; in this case, you will call your EPPICard Customer Service and check if the request you received is legitimate. If it’s a legitimate request, insist on checking with them while you’re on the phone. That way, you don’t have to click on a link to verify your information, especially if you don’t trust the security of your computer or mobile device.