Archived Identity Theft Alerts
Identity Theft...Can Happen to You or Someone You know. Every Day Another Person Becomes a Victim.
**Fraud Alert** July 2010 - E-mail claiming to be from the FDIC
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC.
The subject line of the e-mail states: "you need to check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage." The e-mail 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 e-mail then directs recipients to click on a link stating "You need to visit the official FDIC website and perform the following steps to check your Deposit Insurance Coverage."
This e-mail and associated website are fraudulent. Recipients should consider the intent of this e-mail as an attempt to collect personal or confidential information, or to load malicious software onto end users' computers and should not click on the link provided.
The FDIC does not issue unsolicited e-mails to consumers. Financial Institutions and consumers should NOT follow the link in the fraudulent e-mail.
Source: FDIC
* Please note: APCI FCU is insured by the NCUA, not the FDIC. We wanted to bring this FDIC alert to your attention as you may have other financial service relationships.
**Alert** March 2010 - ZuesBot makes its rounds through Credit Unions, requests online banking data
A flurry of ZuesBot attacks have been occurring at credit unions throughout the country. ZuesBot is a particular nasty malware that is bypassing top Antivirus and malware scanners. Once infected, it waits for the user to login to their online banking, logs their credentials, then pops up a screen that asks the user to further verify their login by entering their credit card data. All information gathered is sent back to the attackers. While some users may be skeptical and not enter their data, the damage is already done. The online banking credentials have been compromised.
Please note that APCI FCU will never prompt you to reveal your charge card number or ATM PIN by email, phone (including text messages) or when accessing APCIRCUIT(R) PC Home Banking. NEVER disclose any of this information in such a manner. Please notify us immediately at (800) 821-5104 if this should occur.
Source: CUISPA
**Alert** January 2010 - Advertisements on Craigslist to Recruit Credit Union Members
Advertisements have been posted on Craigslist as part of member recruitment scams nationwide. The ads solicit current credit union members and offer $75 or more for their assistance with qualifying a new member. This scam is targeting credit unions and members across the country.
The following are samples of Craigslist ads that are being used to target credit union members for this recruitment scam:
If your a ABC Credit Union Member MAKE SOME EXTRA $ - This is NOT a scam! I am willing to call you and discuss extensively! I need a ABC Credit Union Member to sponser me into the credit union. I am willing to pay $100 USD for this service. Please email me and we can discuss this in detail. This is a one day process and I want to become a member for investment account/interest rate purposes.
ABC and XYZ Members Needed!!! - If you are a ABC or XYZ Federal Credit Union member we will pay you $75 per member to sponsor others that would like to join the credit union but do not meet the membership requirements. Please email for details.
Source: CUNA
Get your free annual credit report at Annualcreditreport.com Fight identify theft by monitoring and reviewing your credit report. You may request your free credit report online. They are viewable immediately upon authentication of your identity. You are entitled to receive one free credit report every twelve months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
E-MAIL "PHISHING"
Phishing (pronounced "fishing") is a scam to steal valuable information such as credit card and Social Security numbers, user ID's, and passwords. In phishing, also known as "brand spoofing," an official-looking email is sent to potential victims pretending to be from their ISP (Internet Service Provider), credit union, bank, or retail establishment. E-mails can be sent to people on selected lists or on any list, and the scammers expect some percentage of recipients will actually have an account with the real organization. This email directs the user to visit a seemingly legitimate website where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security and bank account numbers. The website, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user's information.
LAND LINE TELEPHONE "VISHING" & VoIP (INTERNET PHONES "VISHING")
Vishing, (Voice phISHING) also called "VolP phishing for the Internet phones," is the voice counterpart to phishing. Instead of being directed by e-mail to a website, an e-mail message asks the user to make a telephone call. The call triggers a voice response system that asks for the user's card number or other personal or financial information. The initial bait can also be a telephone call with a recording that instructs the user to phone an 800 number or another area code within or outside of the United States.
In either case, because people are used to entering card numbers over the phone, this technique can be effective. Voice over IP (VoIP) is used for vishing because caller ID's can be spoofed and the entire operation can be brought up and taken down in a short time, compared to a land line telephone.
TEXT MESSAGE "SMISHING"
Smishing (SMS phISHING) is the mobile counterpart to phishing. Instead of being directed by e-mail to a website, a text message is sent to the user's cell phone or other mobile device with some ploy to click on a link. The link causes a Trojan to be installed in the cell phone or other mobile device.
MAIL LETTER "PHISHING"
This scam occurs where the phisher is creating a letter and sending it through the mail to individuals to respond to the letter by calling a phone number. The phisher outlines in the letter that the individual must respond for their own protection. This scam is used in conjunction with other channels to steal valuable personal and financial information of the individual receiving the letter.
The Federal Trade Commission's Resource Center provides you with everything necessary to "Deter, Detect and Defend" against identity theft. It is also a comprehensive resource center for links to related laws and state and federal agencies.
This valuable site will provide you with the answers to all of your identity theft questions, such as:
- What are the first steps I should take if I am a victim?
- What do I do if my personal information has been compromised?
- How do I prove I am a victim of identity theft?
- How do I minimize my risk?
The APCI Federal Credit Union will continually update this page with new information about Identity Theft, Phishing and other consumer scams. Please check back often.
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Identity Theft
