| •Mortgage Phishing Scam | •ATM / Debit Card Scam | •Fraudulent Credit Union Representative |
| •Fraudulent Gift Card Promo | •Popular Scams | •Identity Theft |
| •Counterfeit Check Scam |
Mortgage phishing is yet another unscrupulous attempt to reel in your Social Security number, credit card numbers and passwords, and all your personal income and debt information. The e-mail offers state that they're willing to lend you money at a very low interest rate--perhaps at 1% or 2%, even if your credit history is not good or if other lenders have turned you down. So-called pre-approved offers include a short application that usually needs to be filled out right away. E-mail offers typically are sent on Friday evening and require a 24-hour response so you can't call to verify if the offer is valid
The websites phishers use are authentic-looking and often are clones of legitimate mortgage institutions. Trusted names are hijacked to give the unsuspecting victim a false sense of security.
Once the scammers have your vital information, they have access to your financial accounts and help themselves. While you wait for a reply to your application, your confidential information is redirected through several different countries to make it impossible for you to find them and recover your money.
Know how to protect yourself:
- Be suspicious if what appears to be your financial institution or a mortgage company sends a generic letter--not addressed to you--with a fantastic offer, particularly if you're urged to respond quickly. It's most likely a scam.
- If you receive an e-mail that includes a form to fill out within an attachment to the e-mail, delete it immediately. These unrequested attachments usually contain viruses or spyware.
- Make sure any application you fill out is on a secure site. Look for "https" (the "s" means secure), and look in the bottom right corner of your Web browser for a closed padlock.
- If you want to verify an offer, look up the phone number in the yellow pages or white pages of your phone book and call them directly. If there's no phone number, you've probably been phished.
- Keep your virus protection up-to-date.
The network that allows for the use of our ATM and Debit cards nationwide (PULSE) is reporting a new scam taking place. The scam is designed to get consumers to give out their ATM/Debit Card numbers and PIN. The criminals are sending out e-mails to hundreds of consumers asking them to click on a link in order to secure their personal information. The link takes them to a screen that looks legitimate and provides spaces for the card numbers, expiration dates, and PINs. You should not click on the link as this is a fraudulent attempt to gain access to your account at the Credit Union.
Please delete any e-mails you may get regarding this scam. NOFFCU will never ask you for your PIN or to provide it in an e-mail. Our ATM/Debit Card network services provider will never ask for this information either.
It has come to our attention that a person is contacting our members stating that they are an employee of the Credit Union. They are telling the members that they will be depositing some money into their accounts for different reasons unknown at this point. They will ask for your account number and maybe even your PIN. This is a scam. Hang up on them immediately and contact the Credit Union at 504-889-9090. We will not call you and ask for your account numbers at any time. We will only ask you to verify these numbers when you contact us.
This scam involves someone contacting you by phone and asking you to participate in a small survey to receive a gift card to any number of merchants. They may also try to get you to fill it out in the mall. The questions that are asked is about your bank accounts and the account numbers along with the PIN for each account. There may be other legitimate questions asked such as shopping habits, favorite stores etc. to make it seem real. Once you are done they tell you that they will mail the gift card to your address, when in reality they are stealing your identity and not sending you anything. Be very careful when filling out surveys or answering questions over the phone when you did not initiate the call. Do not disclose any personal bank or credit card account information.
1) Naming a star. One company is charging $54 to sell you a star. What you'll get is a certificate with the name and location of "your star" and a false promise that it will be in a star registry. Don't reach for that star, even to impress your true love. Stars are named by the International Astronomical Union, which doesn't send certificates
. 2) Fake charities. Scam artists take advantage of our holiday giving spirit. Expect even more calls from scam artists this time of year. Experts warn against making quick decisions. Ask for information in writing and research the charity at www.give.org before writing the check.
3) Spam solicitations. Don't buy anything from an unsolicited e-mail. If you do, you may be giving your money to a scam artist. And responding to these e-mails likely will result in a flood of spam in your inbox--you've just let the spammer know you have a working e-mail address, and you're a prime target for other scams and identity theft.
4) Internet auction scams. If you bid on an item via an online auction, remember that you're dealing with a nameless, faceless salesperson that could disappear at any time. Experts recommend you bid wisely and only pay for items with a credit card because you can cancel payment if you don't receive the item.
5) High-pressure sales. If someone wants you to buy something quickly, take a deep breath, go home, and research the product on the Internet or with Consumer Reports magazine to figure out a reasonable price. If you don't, you could pay too much.
There are many variations of the counterfeit check scam. It could start with someone offering to buy something you advertised, pay you to do work at home, give you an “advance” on a sweepstakes you’ve supposedly won, or pay the first installment on the millions that you’ll receive for agreeing to have money in a foreign country transferred to your account for safekeeping. Whatever the pitch, the person may sound quite believable.
Counterfeit check scammers hunt for victims. They scan newspaper and online advertisements for people listing items for sale, and check postings on online job sites from people seeking employment. They place their own ads with phone numbers or email addresses for people to contact them. And they call or send emails or faxes to people randomly, knowing that someone will take the bait.
They often claim to be in another country. The scammers say it’s too difficult and complicated to send you the money directly from their country, so they’ll arrange for someone in the U.S. to send you a check. They tell you to wire money to them after you’ve deposited the check. If you’re selling something, they say they’ll pay you by having someone in the U.S. who owes them money send you a check. It will be for more than the sale price; you deposit the check, keep what you’re owed, and wire the rest to them.
If it’s part of a work-at-home scheme, they may claim that you’ll be processing checks from their “clients.” You deposit the checks and then wire them the money minus your “pay.” Or they may send you a check for more than your pay “by mistake” and ask you to wire them the excess.
In the sweepstakes and foreign money offer, they tell you to wire them money for taxes, customs, bonding, processing, legal fees, or other expenses that must be paid before you can get the rest of the money. The checks are counterfeit but they look real. In fact, they look so real that even tellers may be fooled. Some are phony cashiers checks, others look like they’re from legitimate business accounts. The companies whose names appear may be real, but someone has dummied up the checks without their knowledge. You don’t have to wait long to use the money, but that doesn’t mean the check is good. Under federal law (Regulation CC), financial institutions have to make the funds you deposit available - usually within one to five business days (sometimes longer), depending on the type of check. But just because you can withdraw the money does not mean the check is good, even if it’s a cashiers check. It can take weeks for the counterfeit or forgery to be discovered and the check to bounce. You are responsible for the checks you deposit. That’s because you’re in the best position to determine the risk - you’re the one dealing directly with the person who is arranging for the check to be sent to you. When a check bounces, the financial institution deducts the amount that was originally credited to your account. If there isn’t enough to cover it, the financial institution may be able to take money from other accounts you have at that institution, or sue you to recover the funds. There is no legitimate reason for someone who is giving you money to ask you to wire money back. If a stranger wants to pay you for something, insist on a cashiers check for the exact amount, preferably from a local credit union or bank, or a credit union or bank that has a branch in your area. Don’t deposit it - report it!
Report counterfeit check scams to the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch, a service of the nonprofit National Consumers League, at www.fraud.org or (800) 876-7060. The information will be transmitted to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.