May 21, 2009
Phone Phishing Alert

Cooper’s Cave Federal Credit Union is alerting members of multiple phone phishing attempts. Random members are being called by an automated software system and are being asked to enter in their private financial information due to suspicious activity or holds on their Visa Debit/ATM cards. Please do not enter or give out your information.

Cooper’s Cave Federal Credit Union would never solicit your information in this way!
These attempts to gain your information are general and impact a wide variety of financial institutions. If you receive a call from Cooper’s Cave Federal Credit Union and you are not sure of its validity, go ahead and hang up and call us directly using the contact information provided below.

If you did respond and provided any of your personal information, please contact our office immediately at 518-793-9502 so we may assist you in protecting your account.

John Jones
Manager
Cooper’s Cave Federal Credit Union

Two Phishing scams:

1. Identity thieves posing as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service are sending spam e-mails promising government economic stimulus packages.

2. Another scam that is being used promises more information on how to get “economic stimulus grants."

CUNA Mutual alerts credit unions of this risk. Please pass this information on to all appropriate employees. If your credit union has experienced a loss, contact our Credit Union Protection Response Center at 1-800-637-2676.

Details:

Identity thieves posing as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service are sending spam e-mails 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, e-mail 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.

Unfortunately, the threat of fraud due to phishing attempts continues to be very active. Fraudsters are increasing in sophistication, and this type of activity shows no sign of slowing down. In these economic times, it is even more critical to continue educating members on the various ways fraudsters try to obtain their personal information for financial gain.

NCUA Express

A fraudulent e-mail seeking credit card information (known as a "phishing fraud") has been circulating nationwide since 2 p.m. EST today. This fraudulent phishing email appears to be from NCUA and contains a link purportedly to obtain a subscription for the NCUA Express Subscription service. When that link is used, the recipient is directed to a "clone" of the NCUA Express Service site that seeks credit card information from those to whom the phish was sent. If you receive such an email, please ignore it, as it is fraudulent. The NCUA does NOT charge for the Express Subscription service and does NOT solicit credit card information over the Internet. If you have questions or comments, please contact the NCUA Fraud Hotline at 800-827-9650 or, during off duty hours, at 703-728-0700