We have had reports of phone calls made to people in the area regarding their Debit cards. A message is given that their Debit cards have been deactivated and the member must enter their card number and PIN to reactivate it. This is a fraud!
We will never call you and ask for your account number or PIN. When real security issues arise we may call and confirm specific transactions but you will only be asked to reply “yes” or “no” to specific information.
If you receive this fraudulent phone call, please simply hang up. If you have already received this message and have given your information out, please contact us immediately by calling (260) 451-6161.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent email that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.
The subject line of the email states: “check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage.” The email tells recipients that “You have received this message because you are a holder of a FDIC-insured bank account. Recently FDIC has officially named the bank you have opened your account with as a failed bank, thus, taking control of its assets.”
The email then asks recipients to “visit the official FDIC website and perform the following steps to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage” (a fraudulent link is provided.) It then instructs recipients to “download and open your personal FDIC Insurance File to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage.”
This email and associated Web site are fraudulent. Recipients should consider the intent of this email as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, some of which may be used to gain unauthorized access to online banking services or to conduct identity theft.
The FDIC does not issue unsolicited emails to consumers. Financial institutions and consumers should NOT follow the link in the fraudulent email.
Identity thieves posing as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service are sending spam emails 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, email 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.
From the October 13th edition of CUNA News Now... As anxieties over the global financial crisis run high, cybercrooks (hoping to cash in on the growing economic calamity) are targeting current and former clients of financial institutions that have failed or merged (USA Today Oct. 9.) Bank customers (many from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Washington Mutual) report a spike in emails directing them to fake Web sites where they're asked for personal information like username, password, name, address, phone number, and account details (UPI.com Oct. 9.) Some customers are handing over personal information because the phisher claims the information is required to update files because of a merger. Many unsuspecting consumers are leaving themselves vulnerable to fraud in other ways. A survey of 3000 Americans conducted by Zogby International and Symantec revealed that 80% falsely believed they had a firewall installed on their computer, yet only 50% actually had the protective software running on their computers (allheadlinenews.com Oct. 9.) October is National Cyber Security Awareness month, sponsored by several national partners including the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security. The coalition recommends you take precautions to avoid being hooked by a phishing scam:
If you receive an email purporting to be from JPMorgan Chase or Wachovia Bank beware. Both institutions are once again targets of phishing attempts designed to steal personal information while appearing to be legitimate. Within these emails it is stated that these institutions have had issues with wire transfer services and the entry of personal information is needed to validate certain transactions. If you receive one of these emails please do not respond or click on any link; simply delete the email and live happily ever after.
From the February 8, 2008 Kiplinger Newsletter...
As filing season starts, cyber scammers are trying new tactics to steal personal financial information from taxpayers, IRS warns. One type of email message tells folks that their return will be audited. Another offers tax pros information on tax law changes. In each case, the sender purports to be IRS and directs recipients to click on links that give senders access to their computers and personal data. If you receive one of these phony notices don't fall for it. Forward the solicitation to phishing@irs.gov and then delete the message.
Phone scammers are hard at work as well, saying that they need your bank account information to directly deposit the upcoming tax rebate. Don't be fooled. IRS never contacts taxpayers via an unsolicited call.
In a twist on the Phishing method of scamming people, fraudsters are now using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones to steal financial information. By using VoIP the fraudster can tell your Caller ID to display a seemingly safe local or toll free phone number. By displaying this type of number the fraudster hopes to gain the trust of the unsuspecting recipient of the call.
As a reminder, ITT Employees' Federal Credit Union does not and will not call, email, write, or Instant Message you to ask for personal information. Please do not respond to these types of communication.
In this scam the fraudster telephones their victim posing as a local court official who claims the victim has failed to report for jury duty, and as a result, a warrant has been issued for their arrest. The victim will rightly claim they have never received any jury duty notifications. To clear things up the fraudster then asks for confidential information (such as social security number, birth date) for verification purposes or payment information (such as credit card number or bank account) for alleged fines. This is a scam! Members are urged not to give any personal information over the phone.
If you are using Bill Pay and a new screen appears out of context asking you to provide sensitive information, do not provide this information. The screen may be the result of a virus resident on your computer. If you are in doubt about the validity of the screen please call ITT Employees' Federal Credit Union at 260 451 6161.
Once again we are receiving reports of fraudulent emails asking for “information verification.” ITT Employees' Federal Credit Union does not and will not solicit this type of information from our members. Please do not respond to any email, letter, or phone call that seeks personal information from you.
If you have any questions about fraudulent solicitations please contact us or visit our Fraud Prevention page.
Please also visit our Fraud Prevention and Identity Theft pages for more information about ways to avoid fraud and, if necessary, recover from it.
