New Scam/Phishing Attempt

       I received an email awarding me money from a drawing.  It is from Microsoft and my email has been selected as a consultation prize and I will get £500,000.  That is FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND GREAT BRITAIN POUNDS according to the email.  A pound is worth about two US dollars so I have about a million dollars.  It says in the email that I will be “obliged to donate 10% of your winning to any listed charitable organization in Africa.”  My Fiduciary Agent is Mr. Right Philip. 

       The scammers are trying to get information from you to use to get more information from you.  If you call them, they use caller ID to get your name and/or phone number.  Once they have your phone number, they can get your address.  They will call you and send you mail and email to get more information.  They just keep trying to get more information until they have an account number or a social security number or a credit card number.  Once they get those things, they are capable of using your information to purchase things and/or get money. 

       If you receive any emails giving you something/awarding you something, BE CAREFUL.  If you receive any regular mail giving you something/awarding you something, BE CAREFUL.  If you receive phone calls or solicitation calls at your home, BE CAREFUL.  There are people who will try to steal your identity and/or your money.  Remember:  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. 

DISGUSTING STUFF

        Scammers and phishers are using the fires in Southern California to lure unsuspecting nice folks to give them money and account numbers.  Here is how it works:  You see an ad on a web site you visit saying the fire victims in San Diego need money for clothes, shelter, food, whatever.  You click on the ad and are directed to a site that looks like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or some other good organization.  The web address is a lot like the organization’s address, except it has an extra letter or number or two on the end.  (Who really bothers to look at the web address, anyway?)  There is a story or pictures of the fire and you want to help the victims.  You give them a contribution using VISA and you just gave them the account number and the three digits on the back of the card.  They can do what they want.  Or you send them a check.  They have your account number, routing number, everything. 

        The disgusting part??  The fire victims never received a cent.  Be careful; be very, very careful.  There are bad people out there.

Risk Alert

United 1st Federal recently learned of a phishing scam that has resulted in  fraud. The reported cases have involved a fraudulent email that appeared to be sent from the cardholder’s financial institution. The email instructs the recipient to complete a survey to receive $50.00.

Upon completing the survey, a transaction, typically exceeding $1,000.00, was submitted from WESTERN UNION.COM to the cardholder’s account. The initial transaction was denied; however, a subsequent attempt typically ranging from $200.00 to $800.00 was approved. In addition, the criminals may have other personal information about the cardholders and have fraudulently enrolled them in Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode, as evidenced by $1.00 authorization transactions.

We recommend that you review your monthly bill for any unusual activity, including Western Union internet-based transactions. If fraud is suspected, please notify us.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:  Never reply to emails requesting YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION.

United 1st Takes Action To Prevent
Credit Card FRAUD 

        In a move designed to prevent people from becoming a victim of credit card fraud, United 1st Federal Credit Union today announced the implementation of a “sophisticated neural network”.  This neural network is designed to “think” and prevent fraudulent transactions from occurring. 

        If you don’t buy any $1,000.00 books and, all of a sudden, that transaction occurs, an “alert” is created.  A fraud analyst or an automated voice system will then contact you at your home or office to verify you authorized this transaction.  The analyst or system will ask you to confirm the last four (4) digits of your SSN on file.  Once the system knows it is really you, it will ask you to confirm the transaction.  You do and everything continues.  You don’t and that credit card is “killed” and a new one issued.

        If the system is not successful in contacting you, transactions will be suspended for that card until you can be reached for confirmation.  As you can see, it is critical the phone number you supply United 1st be current. 

        We hope you enjoy the security that comes with knowing your credit card carries “state of the art” security features.

United 1st Federal Credit Union Announces
Security Enhancements For Visa Cards

       Did you know a lot of the fraud associated with credit cards occurs in foreign countries?  Did you know the most visited foreign country by members of United 1st is Mexico, followed closely by Canada?  Linda McGunigale, our Visa card coordinator, knows these things and quite a few others.  To prevent our members being a victim of credit card fraud, Linda is placing a “block” on all transactions from Mexico and Canada on Visa CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS.  

So, how does this work?  We don’t want to be too technical but, every time your card is used a score is given to the transaction.  When the score is high, you are called (WE KNOW YOUR CARD NUMBER SO WE WILL NOT ASK FOR IT) and asked if you authorized the transaction.  If you did, no action is taken.  If you did not, your card is “killed”, and a new one is issued to you.  This all takes time and the card could be used by some unauthorized person for a number of transactions.  If the merchant can produce a signed receipt, someone must pay for the item.  It will be you, Visa, or us.  Neither you, Visa, nor United 1st got the item but one would be forced to pay.  To protect our members (and us), we are blocking Mexico and Canada.
       
What happens if you are going to Mexico or Canada?  Call Linda at 912-882-4630 or visit one of our Branches and let a Member Service Representative know and Linda will remove the block from your card. 
       
Remember:  Credit Card fraud affects all of us.  Merchants charge higher prices when things are stolen.  Card companies charge higher fees when they are forced to pay.  Personal financial institutions charge higher fees or take other cost saving actions when they are forced to absorb a loss.  Card fraud is stealing.  At United 1st, we are doing everything we can to make it as difficult as possible for bad people to steal from our members.  Please help us by being alert to theft attempts.  If you have questions or suggestions, give us a call or send an e-mail to services@united1fcu.org.  

Mystery Shopper Scam

This One is GOOD

We learn everything from our members. A fella came in with a check for a little less than five thousand dollars. He got it in the mail with a packet saying he had been selected to be a “mystery shopper”. There was a “Customer Service Evaluation Tool” and a “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” sheet. Seems the company “Shop Until You Drop Inc.” had selected our member to be an employee who would shop at Wal Mart and the Gap. He would also need to get a Western Union transfer and a Money Gram transfer. He could buy anything he wanted at the stores but he had to send the transfers to “Shop Until You Drop Inc.”. They gave him a phone number to call for “detailed instructions”. He was to receive $886.00 for all his hard work. The Human Resources Manager signed the letter and it really looked good.

Our member brought the check in to us to talk about it. He thought it was suspicious. He was old enough (over 15) to know people don’t send money to you for nothing. He wanted to know how to notify the proper authorities. He knew that once he deposited the check, he was guaranteeing it was good. He would have been out the money for the goods he purchased and the two money transfers. These crooks are pretty smart. Amounts less than $5,000.00 are usually not questioned by financial institutions. Our Operations Manager, Charlotte Poston, has a stack of checks that are all over $5,000.00 and are all fake as a $3.00 bill. Every check and/or transaction over $10,000.00 is reported to the Feds because of money laundering concerns. $5,000.00 is not.

Other clues leading him to believe it was fake: Check was issued by a bank in Ripley, TN. The letter was postmarked in Canada. The area code is for Canada. The web site listed for the company did not display (It had that 404 error – site not found.) The address for the company was in Waterloo, Ontario. Why would they hire mystery shoppers in Georgia? They could just tell some of the snowbirds to stop in and buy something and report to them. J

The bottom line of all this is “Watch yourself. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.