PonchoGuard for credit unions
Be there before the wire goes out.
When a scammer calls one of your members over 60, the money usually leaves with the member's own approval. PonchoGuard brings in the people most likely to stop it: their family. Your credit union's name and fraud line sit on every family's dashboard.
- No member data comes to you
- No core or account integration
- It never blocks a member
Protected with Demo Federal Credit Union
Linda asked for a second opinion
$6,000 wire
"He said he was from the fraud department and my account is at risk."
- A caller asked her to move money
- Told to keep it quiet
Callback Book
Call the number here, never the one in the message.
Demo Federal Credit Union fraud line+1 202 555 0190Call
Dr. Patel+1 202 555 0177Call
Sam (son)+1 202 555 0111Call
The gap
The scams that hurt older members look like normal banking
A caller pretends to be your fraud team, a grandchild in trouble or a government agency. The member logs in, sends the wire or buys the gift cards, and every check you run sees an authorized payment. The person who could have said "wait, that is not right" finds out later.
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The call that sounds like you
Impostors use your name, spoof your number and know enough to sound official. PonchoGuard teaches one habit: hang up and call the number in the Callback Book, which is your real fraud line.
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The payment that looks authorized
Before paying someone new, the member can tap Ask my family first. A helper sees what is being asked and answers Stop, call me or Approve.
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The family that hears too late
Adult children want to help without taking over. PonchoGuard tells them about the high-risk moments only, and the member decides what the family sees.
For your members
What a family gets
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Cosign before a wire
A second opinion from family before a big payment, a code or a stranger on the computer. If nobody answers in 10 minutes, the next helper is asked.
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Your fraud line, one tap away
Families who join through your link start with your fraud line in their Callback Book, labeled with your name.
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A card for the fridge
One printed page for the fridge: "Call family first", the helpers' numbers and the three things never to do, like paying with gift cards.
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Works with a flip phone
A member without a smartphone still takes part: a helper checks a worrying message on their behalf and calls them back. A toll-free line they can text or call is planned.
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Dignity Mode
The member stays in charge. By default, helpers hear only about high-risk moments and never see the text of everyday messages.
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It never blocks
PonchoGuard pauses and asks; it never stops a member from using their own money. Stop is the big button, because a pause costs nothing.
Privacy by design
No member data comes to you. None.
PonchoGuard is the family's tool, not a feed into your systems. That keeps the member's trust and keeps you out of their family business.
- We store only which partner a family joined through, so their dashboard can show your name and fraud line.
- You never receive names, phone numbers, messages, alerts, Cosign requests or amounts.
- No member lists from you, no access to accounts, no change to your core.
- Families can leave, download their data or delete their account themselves at any time.
What flows where
- Your credit unionshares a link with your code
- A member's familysigns up, sees "Protected with" your name, calls your fraud line
- PonchoGuardsends nothing about the family back to you
How a pilot works
Three steps, no IT project
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We set you up
Send us your name, logo and fraud line. You get a short code and a link like ponchoguard.com/family/?partner=YOURCU.
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You share the link
In a statement insert, a branch flyer, a newsletter or a conversation with a member's daughter at the teller window.
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Families protect each other
Each family that starts through your link sees "Protected with" your name and has your fraud line ready to call.
Questions credit unions ask
Do we need to integrate anything?
No. There is no connection to your core, online banking or member records. A pilot is a code, your logo and your fraud line on our side, and a link on yours.
Will we see our members' alerts or Cosigns?
No. Everything stays inside the member's family circle. We do not send you anything about a family, and we do not sell or share it with anyone.
What about members without a smartphone?
A helper can check a suspicious message for them (they read it out or forward it), get the answer and call them back. A toll-free number they can text or call is planned; once it is live, it goes on the fridge card in large print.
Does PonchoGuard replace our fraud controls?
No. It works on the family side, before a payment request ever reaches you, and it is careful, not perfect. It never promises a payment is fine; it helps a member pause and ask someone they trust.
Is it available now?
PonchoGuard is in a private beta with families today, and we are talking with a small number of credit unions about first pilots. Write to us and we will tell you exactly what is live.
Let's look out for your members together
Tell us a little about your credit union and your members, and we will set up a time to talk.