Internet/E-Mail Fraud Alerts
Recently, there have been multiple e-mail fraud attempts, known as "Phishing”, that were initiated via e-mail sent to both the general public and to some credit union members that appeared to be from NCUA. This false e-mail asked for the recipient to click on a link to verify their credit union account registration. If the recipient proceeded to do so, the link directed them to a false website and asked for their credit union account number and PIN, along with other personal information.
NCUA does not ask credit unions members for such personal information. Anyone who receives an e-mail that purports to be from NCUA and asks for account information should consider it to be a fraudulent attempt to obtain their personal account data for an illegal purpose and should not follow the instructions in the e-mail.
If you responded to such an e-mail and provided any confidential account information, please notify your credit union immediately of the scheme. You should also change your account’s PIN, and take any additional action recommended by your credit union to protect your account.
If you feel that you have received a fraudulent phishing e-mail purportedly from NCUA please forward the entire e-mail message to Phishing@ncua.gov.
Additionally, you can file formal complaints concerning any suspected fraudulent e-mail with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) at ncua@ic3.gov. The IFCC is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National White Collar Crime Center.
Monday, February 6: CUNA is aware of a phishing scam generating multiple copies of a message asking to update your personal account. THIS IS A PHISHING SCAM - DELETE THE MESSAGES.
CUNA will never solicit e-mails requesting your credit union username, password, pin number, or other personal identity information.
Dirt On Your Dirt Bike
Sell It On The Web And Throw Away 6000 Bucks In The Process!
People are putting large dollar ‘toys’ for sale on the Internet: dirt bikes, boats, cars, etc. are sold on Web sites like E-bay all the time. The sellers get responses via email from prospective buyers.
One guy who belongs to a credit union in New York listed his dirt bike for sale on his dirt bike club’s Web site. What could be safer than that?
Very quickly, the guy received a lot of responses, but one person in particular wanted to buy the bike right now. Nice!
But there was one hitch: the buyer wanted to pay with a “certified” check, made out for more than the cost of the bike. “But that’s okay,” the buyer said, “I trust you, so you can send the balance back to me, and then I’ll pick up the bike.”
The young seller talked with friends and was told that “Certified” and “Cashiers” checks are like cash. (They are--if they are real.) He deposited the certified check in his credit union account, and sent the overpayment back to the buyer.
That’s when the credit union got involved: the “certified” check was a forgery. The member was out $6000!
Forged “certified” or “cashier’s” checks are getting to be a big problem. — it’s happened six times lately at just one credit union
Here’s more on these scams and how to avoid them:
Counterfeit Cashiers' Checks—a twist on the Nigerian Money Scam
How the scam works…
You have a fairly valuable item for sale at one of the online sales or auction sites. Sellers of such items as cars, furniture, boats, and even purebred puppies and horses have been hit by this scam. A potential customer calls from overseas—usually from Nigeria or West Africa but they could be from anywhere. Let's say you've advertised a car for $2,000. They say they want to buy your car. To pay for it, they'd like to have a creditor in the U.S. who owes them $7,200 send you a cashier's check for that amount. You deposit that check in your account and when it's cleared, they'll trust you to wire that money to them. You say yes.
What went wrong…
You receive the cashier's check for $7,200. It appears to be drawn on a legitimate U.S. bank. Your bank accepts it. You withdraw $5,200 and wire it by Western Union to the overseas address. In the next week to three weeks, the cashier's check is returned as counterfeit. The total $7,200 plus fees are taken from your accounts and you may be suspected of fraud.
How to protect yourself…
First, be extremely wary of any such offer that has you sending "change" even if it appears to come from within the U.S. For any large sale to anyone, asking for a cashier's check or money order is usually wise. But wait for the cashier's check or money order to clear—even if it takes a couple of weeks—before you deliver the goods. Alternatively, call the bank that issued the cashier's check (its name will be on the check) and ask if they issued it.
Although we are more Internet savvy than many adults, we’re also the ones falling for these types of scams. Why?
We don’t pay attention, or don’t think about what can happen.
We’ve got two easy solutions for you here…
- We recommend that if you sell your ‘toy,’ that you never do business with a stranger who wants you to send them money back from their check.
- If you’re not going to listen to this advice, however, make sure you wait for the buyers check to clear into your account before you take any action whatsoever--even if the check is made out for the exact amount. Don’t reimburse any money without knowing you got yours for sure! It can take up to three weeks for a check to clear into your account, incidentally.
If you’ve heard about a scam yourself, let us know!
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