BEAUFORT, S.C.–Credit union members continue to lose money to scammers posing as credit union representatives, with the world’s largest credit union, Navy FCU, a particular target.
In South Carolina, A Beaufort County woman lost more $45,000 after scammers posed as her credit union. According to the Island Packet, the woman told police she first spotted a suspicious $1 charge on her Navy Federal Credit Union account. She called who she thought was a representative and the person on the other end of the call asked her to confirm some information and then instructed her to hang up, a police report states.
“She received another call from someone she thought worked for the Navy Federal anti-fraud division. The woman gave this person more account information and permission to transfer the money to another account to ‘secure’ it,” the Island Packet reported. “She was also instructed to send money via a cashier’s check to an address in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which she did, according to the report. After visiting a local Navy Federal branch, she discovered this was the work of impersonators and that almost all of her money had been transferred or wired.
‘Weird Feeling’
“The officer reminded her to trust ‘that weird feeling in her gut’ and that a financial institution would never ask for her account or routing number,” the report added.
A previous Island Packet report found that Beaufort County residents lost at least $70,000 in scams like this from July 2025 to January 2026, according to 26 police reports from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Man Scammed Out of $180K in Florida
As the CU Daily just reported here, a Miami man has been charged with stealing $180,000 from a Navy Federal Credit Union member after allegedly posing as a credit union employee in a phone scam.
Pembroke Pines News, citing an arrest report from the Pembroke Pines Police Department, reported that Jonathan Wilcher, 40, called the victim on July 8 while claiming to be a Navy Federal Credit Union employee. Police allege Wilcher told the member the person’s credit card had been compromised, prompting the victim to provide account information.
Investigators said the victim later discovered that $180,000 had been withdrawn from the account without authorization. The member told police he did not approve the transaction or authorize a check made payable to Checkman Store LLC, a company allegedly associated with Wilcher, according to the report.
