Phishing Alert

August 14, 2018

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Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire personal information such as passwords and credit or debit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity such as a credit union, bank or credit card company.

Criminals will use an email, telephone messages (vishing) or text messages on cell phones (Short Message Service or smishing) to trick recipients into disclosing personal and financial data.

Some phishing attempts ask e-mail or text recipients to respond with personal information; and others include links to what appear to be familiar Web sites but are really spoofed copies. Once the user clicks on the link to the spoofed site, all future online activity gets funneled through the phisher’s system, giving him or her access to any account numbers and passwords the user enters online.

In vishing attacks, the criminal configures a dialer to call phone numbers in a given region or accesses a legitimate voice messaging company with a list of phone numbers stolen from a financial institution. A recording alerts the member that their credit or debit card has fraudulent activity or has been frozen and to call a phone number. When the number is called they are asked to enter a card number on the key pad, PIN, expiration date, SSN and date of birth. The vishers now have enough information to make fraudulent use of the card.

How do you protect yourself from phishing attacks?

U-1st Community Federal Credit Union will never ask for your personal information via phone or email.

1. NEVER respond to an e-mail asking you to verify or update your personal information
2. Never click on links in unsolicited e-mail that you receive
3. Delete any unsolicited e-mail in your e-mail accounts – don’t even open them!
4. Never tell anyone your PIN and never write it down
5. Guard your PIN from being seen when you are completing a transaction at an ATM or in a store
6. Protect your passwords. Never write them down or enter them online unless you initiated the transaction.
7. Never give out your personal or financial information on the phone or online unless you initiated contact
8. Check your credit report at least once annually or sign-up for weekly or monthly alerts through credit management agencies
9. At home, use spam blockers, firewalls, virus protection, and adware & malware destroyers
10. Update your Operating System whenever security patches are available