GenFed has been notified that people have been receiving letters stating they have won a sweepstakes from Readers Digest National Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes Databases, part of an International Lottery Commission. The letters include a check with GenFed’s logo and ask you to contact your claims agent. This is a phishing scam. GenFed is not a part of this sweepstakes.
If you have received this fraudulent letter, please notify local authorities. To see an example of one of the letters, click here.
DUBLIN, Ohio (8/21/08)--Phishing and vishing are "running rampant" in Ohio, with "people all over the state receiving messages" Tuesday and Wednesday purporting to be from three credit unions, says the Ohio Credit Union League.
"We've taken dozens of calls from credit unions saying they're getting a ton of calls from their members," said Katie Walton, director of member communications at the league.
The messages were sent by e-mails, text messages, and auto-dialers leaving messages on consumers' answering machines. They claim the recipient's account has been suspended for suspicious activity. They provide a toll free number, but recipients who call the number get an automated answer that asks for debit-card and credit-card account information.
"We have an advisory for credit unions set up on our website, Walton said.
When you fall for 'phishing' scams, you risk being victimized by identity thieves. To educate our members on safeguards, we provide these tips and the links below.
GENFED FEDERAL CREDIT UNION regards the security of your information and your peace of mind as our number one priority. NEVER enter personal details including account numbers, PINs or Social Security Numbers into a web page link that has been sent to you via email. GenFed Federal Credit Union will never request personal information from members via email. If you have entered account information from a link in an email claiming to be from GenFed Federal Credit Union, call your local branch.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintains a list on its Web site of today’s common fraud schemes, along with tips for detecting and avoiding the scams. The site includes information about telemarketing fraud, the Nigerian Letter scam, identity fraud, advance fee schemes, health insurance fraud, and more. League Director of Compliance Dave Shoup recommends that credit unions share this information with members through newsletters or a link on their credit union’s Web site. “The knowledge included on the FBI’s site can help many members detect and avoid common schemes, saving them from having to salvage their lives from the disastrous affects of fraud,” said Shoup. See the FBI’s Fraud Schemes Web site at the link below.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued new tips for consumers to detect scams. If consumers answer “yes” to any of its questions, they might be getting scammed warns the agency. Questions include: Are you about to cash a check for an item you sold on the Internet that is from a business or individual account that is different from the person buying the item? Is the check for more than the amount of the item’s selling price? Are you sending money overseas for an international lottery you didn’t enter? Have you been asked to pay money to receive an inheritance from another country? If you answer “yes,” you might be a victim of a scam. Check out the poster at the link below for more information about these scams. The poster includes a Web site to report potential scams. Click here to contact FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas with questions or by dialing (614) 744-2168.
To view the poster, click here.
We recognize how important it is to protect your identity from unlawful use, and shield your accounts from fraud and unauthorized access. With that in mind, you can be assured that it's not our practice to:
A phishing e-mail usually takes an urgent or demanding tone, telling you to act immediately to verify or update personal information such as bank account numbers, users names/passwords, credit card account numbers - even your Social Security Number.
Instead, if you've got what you believe to be a suspicious e-mail bearing our name and logo, please do one the following:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
or write : PO BOX 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
or write: PO BOX 9532, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
or write: Fraud Victim Assistance Division
PO BOX 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
Social Security Administration: 1-800-269-0271
Liberty Fraud Education - Provides peace of mind for you. Their fraud-deterrent products and services build awareness of troublesome issues such as identity theft and help you educate your account holders.
'Tips to Safely Conduct Financial Transactions Over the Internet' - Brochure from the National Credit Union Association (NCUA)
'Identity Theft Brochure' - From the NCUA on what to do if you feel you may be a victim of Identity Theft.
'ID Theft' - From the Federal Trade Commission
On Guard Online - From the Federal Trade Commission. Consumers can take interactive quizzes designed to enlighten them about identity theft, phishing, spam and online-shopping scams. If the user selects a wrong answer, the program explains why that particular misconception about Internet security can lead to trouble.
Identity Theft Resource Center- Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) is, a nonprofit, nationally respected organization dedicated exclusively to the understanding and prevention of identity theft. The ITRC provides consumer and victim support as well as public education. The ITRC also advises governmental agencies, legislators, law enforcement, and businesses about the evolving and growing problem of identity theft.
