Fraud Alerts

What are fraud alerts? 

Credit card fraud is on the rise. That’s why we’re doing our part to keep our members informed of new and ongoing scams that could put your identity at risk. To safeguard your financial wellbeing and ensure your credit card information is always protected, you can now receive fraud alerts whenever suspicious activity is detected.

Here’s how it works.  

If you’re a Vancity enviro™ Visa* cardholder, and you have a current phone number and/or email on file with us, you may receive a text and/or email informing you of suspicious activity on your card. You will have 24 hours to reply to the text with either:

• “1” to verify the transaction and unblock the card immediately, or

• “9” to confirm fraud. In this case, your card stays blocked—you must call Card Services at 1-833-470-5355 so we can investigate and file a fraud report.

Please note that your initial transaction may still be declined, even if you’ve confirmed it by texting “1” or “9.”

If you only receive an email alert (and not a text alert), it’s likely that we don’t have your phone number on file. In this case, you’ll need to call us at 1-833-470-5355 to unblock your card.

At this time, you are unable to confirm your purchases and unblock your cards via email. We encourage you to update your phone number for future security alerts.

Credit cards can be blocked for a variety of reasons. If you have questions about why a block was placed, please call Card Services at 1-833-470-5355 for more information.

Here’s what our fraud alerts look like: 

Benefits of setting up fraud alerts: 

• Convenient: You can receive fraud alerts—anytime and anywhere—to notify you of suspicious activity.

• Safe: If we do not receive a response, or you text “9” to confirm fraud, your card will remain blocked. You will then have to call us at 1-833-470-5355 so we can investigate and file a fraud report.

• Fast: Your credit card will be blocked as soon as suspicious activity is detected. It can also be unblocked immediately when you verify the transaction is not fraudulent.

• Control: Avoid any inconvenience caused by an unnecessarily blocked transaction—just reply to our text alert and regain access immediately.

Protect yourself from fraud. 

Scammers are getting more creative every day. We understand it can be difficult to determine when a message from Vancity is legitimate. But here are some helpful tips:

• Vancity will never direct you to suspicious, unassociated websites that ask for your personal banking password, CVV, Visa* number, expiry date, or one-time passcodes. 

• If in doubt, please call us back using the number on the back of your card.

• Visit our blog for more information on how to keep your account safe: vancity.com/CreditCardFraud. 

Opt out any time. 

To stop receiving Vancity’s credit card fraud alerts, simply reply “STOP” via text. You will be opted out of these text message alerts but will continue to receive promotional marketing emails and other alerts.

Please note that if you have other alerts set up through Manage my Visa* card or online banking, you will need to opt out of those alerts separately, even if you’ve replied “STOP” for fraud alerts.