HELP US KEEP EVERYONE SAFE!

We live in an amazing, connected world. An event can occur half-way around the world and not only will we know about it in a few minutes, but we'll have live reports and be able to see it as it happens.  Unfortunately, everything seems to have a potentially dark side and that is also true with computers, the internet and the digital world in which we live. 

Thieves are using technology to attempt to steal identities, access accounts, and even hoodwink you into giving them the information they need to earn their dishonest living.  With the wide-spread increase in consumer fraud, we think it is important to have a place you can go to find out about the latest schemes to steal your identity or illegally access your accounts. 

On this page, ISU Credit Union will post the latest stories about fraud and identity theft and provide you with links to learn more about the topic.  If you have something to contribute to our page, let us know by emailing it to us so we can share it with all of our members. 

Text Messaging
10/30/08
The latest scam to steal your personal, non-published information uses the latest communications technology.  Here is an email warning from CO-OP Financial Services, the provider of our ATM Network.

"CO-OP Financial Services has notified our credit unions in the past about email phishing scams and deceitful attempts to obtain cardholder information with the intent of committing fraudulent activity against member accounts. Multiple member credit unions have recently reported a phishing scam they are experiencing.

This fraudulent attempt to capture card numbers is done with an automated text message referring to themselves as CO-OP Services Credit Union Customer Services Department from a four digit phone number of 3693.

The text message indicates that the member’s credit or debit card has unusual activity on their account. In order to restore the member’s account access, the message asks the member to call 813.600.1551 and enter their 16-digit credit or debit card number along with three additional pieces of information that is linked to the member’s account.

CO-OP Financial Services would never refer to themselves as CO-OP Services Credit Union Customer Services Department, and would not send text messages to cardholders about their accounts. When our staff makes or receives calls from cardholders, we identify ourselves as the Card Member Security Department.

There are so many ways for perpetrators to attempt to get personal information, including the use of auto-dialers and text messages. It is important to remind members to limit the release of personal information in order to protect themselves from fraud.

Please contact Client Services at 800.782.9042, option 2, with any questions or concerns."

Phone Calls

Vishing is one of those invented techy words used to describe a type of fraud using a telephone.  Here's a quick description of how it works and what you can do to protect yourself.

VoIP Phishing is one of the latest scams using phones to convince you to give out financial information. 

Even doing your civic duty by serving on a jury has been used to attempt to acquire personal financial information.

Here is yet another phone scam that is very clever in the way the caller convinces you they are legitimate and gets the information they need to access your credit card.

E-Mail Scams
March,2009-- Here is the text of the email message received by one member attempting to solicit personal financial information.  Note that the word NetTeller is not spelled the way we spell Neteller.

Dear NetTeller Banking Customer,
This letter is addressed to you as your Bank provides NetTeller Banking Service. 
Please notice that a new version of a NetTeller Confirmation Form has been released. This form synchronizes Customers’ data with its account entries on a central NetTeller banking server. Each NetTeller Banking user is required to fill in the NetTeller Confirmation Form.

Please, click the link below to access the NetTeller Confirmation Form.
In order to fill in the form correctly, please follow the instructions on the website.

http://cm.netteller.com/login2008/Authentication/Views/Form.aspx?fi=CONFIRMATIONFORM&burlid=5444510222965527652823324289024464249

NetTeller apologizes for the inconveniences caused to you, and is very grateful for your cooperation.

NetTeller Banking

February, 2009--Thieves are getting better at targeting current events and finding an angle to use to persuade you to reveal your personal, non-public information.  Here is one using the promise of an economic stimulus package:

Identity thieves posing as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service are sending spam e-mails promising government economic stimulus packages. The message tells the user to download an attachment that is masked as a form they must fill out and send to the IRS to receive their check. However, the document really is an identity theft tool that steals the personal information entered in the form.

Another scam being used promises more information on how to get “economic stimulus grants.”  They tempt users with fake testimonials such as, “I found the grant I needed and filled out the forms and sent them in, and in about two weeks I received a check in my hand for $100,000.”  It leads to a marketing-type site in which you enter personal information such as salary range, e-mail address, mailing address, and date of birth purportedly to get a free CD that shows you how to claim one of these grants. To order the CD, you must enter credit card information for the postage and handling costs. You never get the CD—only a stolen identity.

Unfortunately, the threat of fraud due to phishing attempts continues to be very active.  Fraudsters are increasing in sophistication, and this type of activity shows no sign of slowing down. In these economic times, it is even more critical to continue educating members on the various ways fraudsters try to obtain their personal information for financial gain.

April, 2008--Here's a new twist on an old scheme to assure you a fraud is legitimate by assuring you it isn't a scam.  This time, they are operating under the auspices of the World Health Organization.  The one consistency is terrible grammar and spelling.

Subject: WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION®

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION®
Avenue: Appia 20, CH - 1211
Geneva 27, Switzerland
WHO Clearance Number: WHO1000909
FBI Clearance Number: FBI9001801
Attorney General's Clearance NO.: ATG64793.

Dear Winner,

A certified award check of (£6.5, million GB Pounds = $13,591,000 US Dollars) credited to file NO: M154S/WL04 leave the World Health Organization's Head Quarters for your address. It is important we know if you are prepared to received the parcel.So, you will be invited for dinner night on 28th August, 2008. The address to which this Email is attached is yours. Please reconfirm, and contact us via email with your personal details for references:

1.Full Names:
2.Address:
3.Nationality/Country:
4.Age/Date of Birth:
5.Marital status:
6.Occupation:
7.Phone/Fax:
8.Sex:
9.Email Address:

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
907 Strand Street, London WC2R 0QS
Dr. B. Sadasivan, Chairman.
Hon  Barr. Duke Valentino Andrews, Awards officer.
Tel : Tell:  +44-701-113-7452,

No personal information (such as your names, address or phone number) will  be captured on visiting our Web page as your privacy is vitally important. The National Association of State and Provincial Lotteries recently alerted the World Health Organization of clearance number to cut down on the rate of scams.  If you receive or have received check for Clearance number. They are usually 10 digits; three alphabetical and seven numerical number. You will find ours top left of this page.

NOTE: Please, be informed that the said W.H.O Award is not an open Award for the main time keep it cool and calm. Make sure this award is used to help the less privileged

Ellen Bowell,
Secretary/Co-ordinator

April, 2008--ISUCU members are reporting receipt of this email, telling them they have won a contest, but they must provide information to verify their identity to collect.  This time, the scam gives some urgency by saying the link will only remain active for 10 days. 

October 31, 2007--ISU Credit Union members are being targeted with an email scam that claims to be from the Credit Union National Association, claiming to deactivate member's card accounts. The email urges recipients to call a phone number to verify personal information to have restrictions placed on their account removed. This email is a scam. Please report this email to local authorities and let us know.  Here is a copy of the email received by one member.

November 1, 2007--Another scheme was received by an employee of ISU Credit Union today that claims to be an email from the NCUA, or National Credit Union Association, asking the recipient to activate an online account and provide a card number and PIN number.  View email.

August 12, 2008--Here is a scam that says it is from the NCUA again, but this time as a rewards program for $300.  Would that entice you to reveal your personal non-public information? Read more here.

Here's another email that is very similar to the one above that claims to be from the NCUA attempting to entice members to sign onto a fraudulent web site to disclose their personal financial information.

Another scheme attempts to gain credibility by referencing the National Credit Union Administration.  In this one, the perpetrators have sent out an email warning about a fraudulent web site and then encourage credit union members to visit a web site that is itself fraudulent. 

Here's one that uses the TJ Max security breach and the NCUA name to scare charge card holders into signing onto a phony web site to update their information. 

VISA Scam
Increasingly, scammers are relying on attempts to gain credibility by posing in emails, phone calls and letters as anti-scamming authorities.  Here's a story from Snopes.com related by a person who received a call from a scammer purporting to be from VISA, monitoring a fraudulent scam company.

Nigerian Scams

A number of internet and email scams originate in the African country of Nigeria.  Like most scams, they seem to be too good to be true, and they turn out to exactly that when the victim realizes they have been taken.  Here's an example of a Nigerian scam.

Here's another variation on the same theme.  This time it claims to be from an investment company in the Channel Islands.

The latest scam received by one of our members uses a check drawn on the credit union for credit unions, Wescorp.  It also urges the recipient to be aware of potential fraud in wiring the funds to the scamsters account. 

Counterfeiting

Plain, old-fashioned check counterfeiting is still going on today and is getting harder to catch because the scam artists are very good at using today's computers and software to duplicate checks.  Here is a brief description of two of the most common schemes.

ATM Safety

The internet can often quickly spread "urban myth" stories but few stories gain such rapid appeal with so many potentially negative impacts on cardholder safety and confidence as the misleading stories circulating the internet regarding PIN reversal to signal duress. PIN reversal technology is a concept based upon the possibility that a cardholder could remember (and reverse) his or her PIN at an ATM to draw attention to a dangerous situation like a kidnapping or a robbery. Critics say that it is unlikely that anyone under duress could successfully employ this technique without compromising personal safety.

Financial institutions within the United States have not deployed this technique despite several well circulated email chain letters that have misstated this fact. ISU FCU has never used this process at our ATM locations.  Don't be mislead by false emails. 

Romance

Even romance is being used to scam people out of money.   Internet chat rooms and web sites that attempt to match compatibilities are sometimes used to encourage 'loans' and outright gifts of money.  Here's a web site that lists several types of romance scams.

Online Donations
Tips to members donating online:

• Ensure you are dealing with legitimate organizations.
• Contact these organizations on your own.  Go to their Web site rather than clicking on a link in an email sent to you.
• Remember that legitimate organizations will not aggressively approach people for money and donations.
• Be mindful of groups reporting to be affiliated with legitimate organizations asking for donations or requesting you to visit their Web site.  They may be fraudulent or hosting malicious code designed to steal personal financial information.
• Be wary of online auctions that claim to support the donation effort. 
• Report suspicious Internet sites and emails to the government and for additional protection tips visit the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or the Federal government's consumer information center at www.consumer.gov/Tech.htm

Summary

A financial institution will never call you to ask for credit card or account information.  They already have your information and don't need to call you or send you an email or letter to verify the information.  If someone is offering you free money, it is probably really is too good to be true.  

Balance
Balance is a business partner of ISU Credit Union to help our members handle some of life's bumps in the road.   BALANCE offers financial education and identity theft solutions at their web site.  Just click this banner to be taken to the Identity Theft section:

If you experience a case of fraud involving your ISU Credit Union accounts, we would like to know so we can issue a warning to other members and help you protect your accounts.  Call us immediately at 208 235-7100.