Scams and Fraudulent Websites

To better protect you, we have provided a listing of current Internet scams and fraudulent websites. This information will help in identifying emails or web sites that you may not feel are legitimate. This is area will change frequently, so stop back often.

Have you been a victim of a scam or may suspect fraud? If you can answer "YES" to any of the following questions, you could be involved.

• Is the CHECK from an item you sold on the Internet, such a car, boat, jewelry, etc?
• Is the amount of the CHECK more than the item's selling price?
• Did you receive the CHECK via an overnight delivery service?
• Is the CHECK connected to communicating with someone by email?
• Is the CHECK drawn on a business or individual account that is different from the person buying your item or product?
• Have you been informed that you were the winner of a LOTTERY, from an area such as Canada, Australia, El Gordo or El Mundo, that you did not enter?
• Have you been instructed to either "WIRE", "SEND" OR "SHIP" MONEY, as soon as possible, to a large U.S. city or to another country, such as Canada, England or Nigeria?
• Have you been asked to PAY money to receive a deposit from another country such as Canada, England or Nigeria?
• Are you receiving PAY or COMMISSION for facilitating money transfers through your account?
• Did you respond to an email requesting you to CONFIRM, UPDATE, OR PROVIDE your account information?

Please contact our Account Service staff immediately if you feel that this happened to you.

Current Email Scam: Card Services for Credit Unions

Members have been receiving an email stating that they requested to fill out a survey. The member would then receive $50.00. CSCU did not send this out. This is a phishing email. Click here to view the email.

Current Email Scam: NCUA
Subject Line: Update Account

Email Body:
Dear Customer

 Due to concerns, for the safety and integrity of the National Association Federal Credit Union
account we have issued this warning message.

 It has come to our attention that your NAFCU® account information needs to be
updated as part of our continuing commitment to protect your account and to
reduce the instance of fraud on our website. If you could please take 5-10 minutes
out of your online experience and update your personal records you will not run into
any future problems with the online service.

However, failure to update your records will result in account suspension.
Please update your records on or before August 02, 2006.

Once you have updated your account records your NAFCU account
service will not be interrupted and will continue as normal.

To update your National Association Federal Credit Union® records click on the following link:
http://www.nafcu.org/Template.cfm?Section=Login&Template=/Security/Login.cfm

Thank You.
National Assocition Federal Credit Union® UPDATE TEAM

Accounts Management As outlined in our User Agreement, NAFCU® will
periodically send you information about site changes and enhancements.

Current Phone Scam Relating to Home Banking

A San Francisco-based e-mail security company, said it has seen two separate attacks this week. In both cases, the spammed message warns of a problem with a bank account and instructs the recipient to dial a phone number to resolve it, the company said in a statement published Tuesday.

The caller is connected to a voice response system that is made to sound exactly like the bank's own system. The phone system identifies itself to the target as the financial institution and prompts them to enter account number and PIN.

Centris will not call or email members for this type of information. Please notify us if you do receive this type of request.

Current IRS Phishing Emails on Tax Refunds

The Internal Revenue Service and the Internet Crime Complaint Center have issued consumer alerts about an Internet scam in which consumers receive an e-mail informing them of a tax refund. One e-mail, which claims to be from the IRS, tells the recipient that they are eligible to receive a tax refund for a given amount.  It then directs the consumer to a link that requests personal information, such as Social Security number and credit card information.

Another e-mail titled "Refund Notice" claims to provide information to recipients regarding the status of their IRS Tax Refunds. The e-mail contains a link, which mirrors the true IRS web site. This site purportedly allows recipients to check the status of their IRS tax refund after providing the following information:

First and last name
Social Security Number or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
Credit card information

The IRS has seen numerous attempts over the years to defraud the public and the federal government through a variety of schemes, including abusive tax avoidance transactions, identity theft, claims for slavery reparations, frivolous arguments and more. More information on these schemes may be found on the criminal enforcement page at www.IRS.gov.

The IRS does not ask for personal identifying or financial information via unsolicited e-mail.

Current VISA scam email:

Subject Line: Attention! Several VISA Credit Card bases have been LOST!

Email body: Good afternoon, unfortunately some processings have been cracked by hackers,
so a new secure code to protect your data has been introduced by visa.

You should check your card balance and in case of suspicious transactions immediately contact your card
issuing bank.

If all transactions are alright, it doesn't mean the card is not lost and cannot be used. Probably, your card
issuers have not updated information yet.
That is why we strongly recommend you to visit our web-site and update your profile, otherwise we cannot
guarantee stolen money repayment.
Thank you for your attention.
Click here and update your profile.

(This a phishing email. Delete the email and do not respond)

Current NCUA Phishing emails

Dear Credit Union customer,

We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your Credit Union account may have been accessed by
an unauthorized third party. Protecting the security of your account and of the Credit Union network is our primary concern.
Login to your credit union account. In case you are not enrolled yet for Internet Banking,
you will have to fill in the required information.

How can I restore my account access?

Thank you,
Credit Union National Association, Inc.

**************************************************************
IMPORTANT CUSTOMER SUPPORT INFORMATION
**************************************************************

Please do not reply to this message. For any inquiries, contact Customer Service.

Document Reference: (92051208).
Copyright © 2006 - Credit Union National Association, Inc.

**************************************************************

Dear FCU holder account,
This notice infroms you that your Credit union bank has joined our Federal Credit Union
(FCU) network. For both, our and your security, we are asking you to activate anonline
account on our database. After activation you can login on our system with your SSN and
your Credit/Debit PIN number.

You must visit the FCU activation page and fill in the form to activate your online account:http://www.ncua.gov/ActivateAccount.html

In accordance with NCUA User Agreement, you can use your online account in 24 hours
after activation. We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand
that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account.

Thank you for your time.
Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address can't be answered.

(This a phishing email. Delete the email and do not respond)

Charity Scams:
Beware of Disaster Scams: In the wake of Hurricane Rita and after Hurricane Katrina, we wanted to remind you that whenever there is a major natural or other disaster, scammers begin sending out charity relief scams within just a couple of hours! Most states require charities to register with them and file annual reports showing how they use donations. The Red Cross also has a special email address for reporting suspicious sites: fraudalert@usa.redcross.org The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance also offers information about national charities at www.give.org.

Jury Duty Scams:
Here is a new twist scammers are using to commit identity theft, the jury duty scam. The scammer calls claiming to work for the local court and claims you've failed to report for jury duty. He tells you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest. The victim will often rightly claim they never received the jury duty notification. The scammer then asks the victim for confidential information for "verification" purposes.

Specifically, the scammer asks for the victims Social Security number, birth date, and sometimes even for credit card numbers and other private information -- exactly what the scammer needs to commit identity theft. So far, this jury duty scam has been reported in Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington state.

It's easy to see why this works. The victim is clearly caught off guard, and is understandably upset at the prospect of a warrant being issued for his or her arrest. So, the victim is much less likely to be vigilant about protecting their confidential information. In reality, court workers will never call you to ask for social security numbers and other private information. In fact, most courts follow up via snail mail and rarely, if ever, call prospective jurors.

Action: Never give out your Social Security number, credit card numbers or other personal confidential information when you receive a telephone call. This jury duty scam is the latest in a series of identity theft scams where scammers use the phone to try to get people to reveal their Social Security number, credit card numbers or other personal confidential information.

We would like to thank Fraud.org and Scam Busters  for contributing to this information.

What is Identity Theft
Fraudulent Emails and Websites
Who to Contact if it Happens