Fraud Alert FAQs

We monitor transactions on your card for potential fraud. When we identify a transaction that may be fraud, we may verify that transaction with you. In certain situations, we may block further use of your card until we receive confirmation from you that the requested transaction was legitimate. Establishing a two way responsive communicate with each other will un-block your transaction and allow access to your card quickly.

We look at many variables when determining that a transaction is suspicious and potentially fraudulent (for example, the number, dollar amount and rate of transactions, merchant type and location). We also monitor prior account geographical usage, for example, a transaction that is presented from a location not consistent with other account transactions may block further usage of your card. In some cases, the characteristics of multiple transactions may raise suspicion. So, the alert you receive may ask about more than one transaction. New account holders may initially receive more fraud alerts until a card use history can be built up. Once we know normal card use patterns, these alerts will subside by recognizing typical behaviors.

We always use two forms of notification for optimal contact attempts. If you do not sign up for text alerts, you will be contacted by phone number and by email. If you do sign up for text alerts, you will receive an email and text notification.

Yes. Please call us at 1.866.398.7226 to request that your home phone number be updated to your mobile phone number. Please note that in doing so, all contact from the bank through phone will be routed to your mobile phone.

Initial telephone contact will not be specific to a certain card. Once someone responds to the message, they will be told the last four digits of the card that has the questionable transaction. In an effort to keep messages separate, each member of a household may want to provide their own primary number for calling purposes, such as a mobile number.

It is important to let us know when and where you are traveling. You can call Customer Care at 1.866.398.7226 to notify us of your travel dates. While it is extremely important when traveling outside the country, we recommend you let us know anytime you are traveling, even if it seems a short distance. Anytime activity occurs outside your normal spending trends, it may trigger an alert from our Alert System.

Messages can only be sent via U.S. carriers and will only be receivable in the U.S. If a transaction is flagged as suspicious we will send a text but it may not be received while you are outside of the U.S. Some messages on U.S. carriers may be received while traveling; however, it will depend on that carrier’s coverage area. It is always a good practice to inform us of your travel plans by calling customer care at 1.866.398.7226 prior to traveling outside of the U.S. Doing so will help avoid having legitimate charges flagged as potentially fraudulent. In some cases, your card may be blocked from further transactions until we are able to contact you.

Some merchants pre-authorize transactions before the purchase is actually made. This is very common with pay-at-the-pump gas transactions and restaurants. In these instances, your Fraud Alert message is showing the pre-authorization amount designated by the merchant instead of the actual transaction amount. This pre-authorization amount will not be posted to your account.

If you confirm that your card has had a fraudulent transaction, the card will be deactivated and you will need to contact customer care at 1.866.398.7226 to have it reactivated or a new card produced. If you receive a new card, you will automatically be registered with the newly issued card number, and alerts will reflect this new number.

If you receive an email notification and respond, you will still receive the phone notification because it went into a queue and was held until 8:00 AM. You do not need to take any action with the phone call if you have responded through the email notification.

There is a two-step process to enroll a customer in Extraco Fraud Alerts. First, you go to the website and fill out all the requested information and accept the Terms and Conditions. Then a text is sent to the mobile number you enrolled. You must respond “YES” to that text to complete enrollment.

Using your mobile phone, text “Extraco” to 47334. You will receive a confirmation text message that says the following: “Extraco Fraud Alerts.” Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help.

Msg&Data rates may apply. Msg freq is recurring & based on fraudulent activity.

The Bank does not charge for this service. However, standard text message and data rates assessed by your mobile carrier may apply. Please check with your mobile carrier to ensure that you have ‘text messaging’ on your monthly mobile phone plan.

AT&T, Sprint, Nextel, Boost, Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular®, T-Mobile®, Cellular One Dobson, Cincinnati Bell, Alltel, Virgin Mobile USA, Cellular South, Unicel, Centennial and nTelos.
(This list is current upon publication but subject to change without notice.)

Text messaging is required to receive text messages from this service. If your mobile phone is able to send and receive text messages, but you do not currently subscribe to this service, you will need to contact your mobile phone provider to add the text messaging feature to your mobile phone plan.

Typically, alerts arrive within a few minutes, but timing may vary based on your mobile provider and accessibility to a mobile network. In some cases, your card may be blocked from further transactions until we are able to contact you.

Text messages are unique in that some mobile phone carriers can only hold 160 characters per text. Some commands require multiple messages to return all of the necessary information. In some cases, you may receive these alerts out of order. Please be sure to wait and review all messages before responding.

You will receive the following message: Extraco Fraud Alerts. Reply STOP to cancel, HELP for help.

Msg&Data rates may apply. Msg freq is recurring & based on fraudulent activity.

Replying STOP will cancel text messages from coming in. If you do so and later wish to receive text alerts, you will need to re-enroll your mobile number.

No. Only one mobile phone number can be linked to a single card number.

In order to receive alerts at your new mobile number, please let us know your new number by calling Customer Care at 1.866.398.7226. Once we have it, re-enroll your card(s) in Extraco Fraud Alert using your new mobile number. Your old number will no longer be enrolled once this is done.

If your phone is no longer in your possession, please enroll your new mobile number or request to be removed from text alerts by contacting us at 1.866.398.7226 until you have a new mobile number.

We will never ask you to text us your account number, personal identification such as your birth date or social security number, or other personal information such as your mother’s maiden name or address. If you ever receive a text message asking for your account numbers or other personal information, please do not respond and contact us at 1.866.398.7226.

Your mobile phone may be blocked from receiving third-party text messages. Contact your carrier to see if this applies to you and ask them to remove the block from your phone.

Send a text that says STOP to 47334 or reply STOP to any Extraco Fraud Alert message that you receive. This will cancel any further alerts to your mobile number. You will receive an opt-out confirmation. Extraco Fraud Alerts will still call your registered phone number and email you regarding suspicious activity.

Responding to an alert within 3 minutes will help you avoid any disruptions on your card. However, if you forget to reply, just send a reply the first moment you get and Extraco will turn your card back into active mode within seconds. You may also manage your card from the Extraco Fraud Alert App.

Yes. SMS messages are stopped when the mobile app is installed. They are resumed if you uninstall the app.

Declining a transaction will not prevent the transaction from going through. Declining the transaction will disable your debit card to prevent additional unauthorized transactions from processing. Contact your local branch or customer service Relationship Banker to determine the next steps for disputing unauthorized transactions and for debit card replacements.

We consider it an honor to be your bank. Although travel notifications are still placed during travel to allow you to be able to use your debit card, you are still notified of transactions so that you may accept what is deemed legitimate, and decline what may be fraudulent.

The merchant may be blocked due to its originating corporate office. This happens on most new/replacement debit cards and uncommon transactions. A customer service Relationship Banker can assist with unblocking a merchant to enable the transaction to be reprocessed.

A pre-authorization at the gas pump will trigger an Extraco Fraud Alert sent either by email or text. ACCEPT this alert if you are indeed pumping gas so that your debit card does not get restricted from use for potential fraud.

Most gas pumps will only do a $1 pre-authorization so the merchant knows there are funds to cover the purchase of gas/fuel. Some common gas pumps that do LARGE pre-auths are Murphy’s/Wal-Mart, H-E-B, Shell, and SAM’s Club. These pre-authorizations can range from $75-$100. The pre-authorization normally falls off after your gas transaction settles.