Tax Credit Scam
January 24th, 2008
A new scam has emerged where an individual will call you, claiming to be from the Social Security Administration. This individual will explain to you that they have your bank routing number, your address and your social security number and that they only need your bank's name and your account number because they are going to "give you a tax credit of $xxx because you paid your taxes on time."
Beware, because this is a SCAM! If you ask the caller for their phone so that you can call back to verify, they will not provide it. If you ask for something in writing, they will explain that you will recieve that from their legal department once you have provided the requested information. As with most scams, these individuals may become pushy if you do not comply.
REMEMBER, THE GOVERNMENT TAX CREDIT THAT IS BEING DISCUSSED FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL WILL BE SENT AS A CHECK!
PIN Email Phishing
November 6th, 2007
Another email phishing scam. See email below:
-----Original Message-----
From: Credit Union
Subject: Your card has been deactivated
Dear Credit Union Member,
The personal identification number (PIN) was entered incorrectly more than 3 times.
For your protection we have deactivated your card.
To reactivate your card please complete the authentication form <http://www.sunkoo20.co.kr/sen.html> .
Thank you for choosing our services.
Kind Regards,
Credit Union Customer Service
Co-op email scam
October 31st, 2007 (Co-op)
Please remember, we will never call you or email you asking for your personal information! The email below is fraudulent (note the misspelling of "customer" in the From email address.)
From: Co-Op Services CU [mailto:costumer.serv@cu.org]
Subject: Identity Theft Protection Program
Dear Co-op Services Credit Union customer,
We regret to inform you that we have received numerous fraudulent emails which ask for personal account information. The emails contained links to fraudulent pages that looked legit. Please remember that we will never ask for personal account information via email or web pages.
Because of this we are launching a new security system to make Co-op Services Credit Union accounts more secure and safe. To take advatage of our new consumer Identity Theft Protection Program we had to deactivate
access to your card account.
To activate it please call us immediately at (425) 998-1152
Activation is free of charge and will take place as soon as you finish the activation process.
If you think your identity has been stolen, here's what to do now:
1) Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.
2) Close accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit (PDF) when disputing new unauthorized accounts.
3) File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.
4) File your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps the FTC gather more information about identity theft and the problems victims are having.
For more information, go to: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/.
Please do not reply to this message. For any inquiries, contact Customer Service.
NCUA, CUNA, Co-op Services Credit Union - Copyright (c) 2007
Debit Card Email Phishing
October 31st, 2007 (CUNA)
Details: CUNA target of new card-activation phish attempt
CUNA, (NOT CUNA Mutual Group), is being used as the subject of a phishing message targeting your credit union members to collect personal account information, plastic card numbers, and passwords. CUNA is warning people who receive the e-mail not to click on the link to the fake web page, just delete the message.
This new phishing-scam attempt using the Credit Union National Association's name, informs recipients about "irregular check card activity" and advises them to call a toll-free number to get any restrictions removed. Calling the toll-free number is a "bad idea," says Dorothy Steffens, CUNA's vice president of web services, 800-356-9655 ex 5719. The call is a ploy to get personal account information, possibly for identity theft purposes.
Recipients received a message as a:
"CUNA Alert: Irregular Check Card Activity"
"We detected irregular activity on check card on Oct. 25/2007. For your protection, you must reactivate your card. Call us immediately at 1.866.840.2863. We will review the activity on your account with you and upon verification, we will remove any restrictions placed on your account.
Please disregard this notice if you have already accessed the website or spoken with one of our representatives."
As a trade association for U.S. credit unions, "CUNA does not maintain any type of customer/member financial information," emphasized Steffens, adding that "your financial institution would never request personal identification information over the phone."
And while this phone number has since been disabled, a new phishing e-mail with a different phone number started making the rounds on October 30, 2007.
"Anyone responding to any e-mails of this type should contact their financial institution directly using the phone number provided by it," she said.
Also, another phish making the rounds earlier with CUNA's name on it comes from a gmail.com address and addresses "Credit Union National Association SERVICE." It says CUNA ensures security "by regularly screening the accounts in our system. We recently reviewed your account, and we need more information to help us provide you with secure service." It provides a "case ID" and a link to a fake website mimicking CUNA's.
Credit Card Phone Scam
April 4th, 2007
This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the
information, except the one piece they want.
Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.
This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA
&MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared
to protect yourself.
One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I was
called on Thursday from "Master Card".
The scam works like this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm
calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number
is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern,
and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was
issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device
for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona ?" When you say
"No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to
your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges
range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags
most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to
(gives you your address), is that correct?"
You say "yes". The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud
investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800
number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for
Security.
You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you
a 6 digit number. "D o you need me to read it again?"
Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says,
"I need to verify you are in possession of your card". He'll ask you to
"turn your card over and look for some numbers". ; There are 7 numbers;
the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security
Numbers' that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the
numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have
the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After
you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just
needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you
still have your card. Do you have any other questions?" After you say
No, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back
if you do", and hangs up.
You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the
Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back
within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA
Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a
new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.
Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA
account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is
the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them.
Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for
verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will
never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information
since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN
Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you
get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and
by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a
fraud report.
What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a
"Jason Richardson of Master Card" with a word-for-word repeat of the
VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a
police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking
several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we
know that this scam is happening.
Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By informing each
other, we protect each other.
NCUA Email Fraud
March 20th, 2007
We have been informed of a scam that is circulating cyberspace. Please remember, your credit union will NEVER ask you for your PIN! If you receive the following email, DO NOT RESPOND!
_____________________________________________________________________
From: National Credit Union Administration
Date: 2007/03/18 Sun PM 08:25:14 CDT
Subject: NCUA Account Review Department
Dear Credit Union holder account,
This notice informs you that your Credit Union bank has joined our Federal Credit Union(FCU) network.For both, our and your security, we are asking you to activate an online account on our database. After activation you can login on our system with your SSN and your Credit/Debit PIN number.
You must visit the FCU activation page and fill in the form to activate your online account: https://www.ncua.gov/activate_account
