E-mails fraudulently claiming to be from the FDIC are attempting to trick recipients into installing unknown software on personal computers. These e-mails contain the subject line: "Funds wired into your account are stolen."

The FDIC is aware of e-mails appearing to be sent from the FDIC that ask recipients to open and review an attached file. Currently, the subject line of the e-mail states: "Funds wired into your account are stolen." The e-mail is fraudulent and was not sent by the FDIC.

The fraudulent e-mail tells the recipient that proceeds from identity theft crimes have been wire-transferred into their bank account. The e-mail then directs the recipient to open and review an attached copy of their bank account statement and to contact their bank account managers.

The attached file is actually an executable file containing malicious code or software. Recipients should consider the attached file as a malicious attempt to collect online banking credentials or other personal and confidential information that could be used to gain unauthorized access to on-line banking services or perpetrate identity theft and other criminal activities.

Recipients of the fraudulent e-mail should not reply and should not attempt to open the attached file. According to reports received by the FDIC, many antivirus software programs have been detecting and removing the malicious attachment before the e-mail is delivered. However, if a recipient does open the attachment, the FDIC recommends updating anti-virus software patches and performing a complete scan of the computer and network, if applicable. If a computer becomes infected and the user encounters difficulties removing the malicious code, users should contact their anti-virus software vendor. The FDIC highly recommends using anti-virus software.

For additional information about safe online banking and avoiding online scams, visit http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/guard/.

For your reference, FDIC Special Alerts may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2008/index.html. To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Special Alerts through e-mail, please visit www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html.

IRS Warns of New Email and Telephone Scams Using the IRS Name

At Centris, we’re doing all we can to help you keep your hard earned money safe. Please help us in protecting your assets and do not provide any personal information such as Social Security numbers, bank/credit union account numbers through email or unsolicited phone calls.

The IRS is reporting two new scams that involve callers impersonating an IRS employee and e-mail claiming to come from the IRS regarding the “2008 Economic Stimulus Refund”. The e-mail tells recipients to click on a link to fill out a form for direct deposit. In reality, taxpayers do not have to fill out a separate form to get a stimulus payment or have it directly deposited; all they had to do was file a tax return and provide direct deposit information on the return.

For more information about how to protect yourself from identity theft and fraud go to http://www.centrisfcu.org/home/information.info_security_emailweb. Centris also offers a free online course about identity theft at http://anytime.cuna.org/022534/id_theft/001_001_001.html.

Phishing Alert

Members who use online banking should be aware of a phishing scam that targets users by sending emails that appear to be from official Digital Insight sources (e.g., “Digital Insight Customer Care”).  Digital Insight is a third-party vendor that Centris uses to provide online banking services.  The scam is designed to trick the recipient into clicking a link in the fraudulent email for the purpose of acquiring sensitive data, such as passwords or financial information.

Phishing Update:

• Digital Insight systems have not been breached in any way.  Your information is still safe.Recipients of these emails are not specific to DI financial institutions’ end users. Phishing emails can go to anyone that has an email address on the Internet, so it is not the case that someone has a list of your customers. 
• The site that these phishing emails link to has been shut down. However, to ensure security, please do not click on the link in this particular email. If you are trying to identify the URL for reporting purposes, we recommend that you use your mouse to hover over the link.
• Some of the false email addresses that users have reported include:

• While the addresses differ, the body of the email remains relatively consistent (“We inform you that your account is about to expire. It is strongly recommended to update it immediately. Update form is located here. However, failure to confirm your records may result in account suspension.”)

Please know that Centris takes pride in providing the highest level of account security.  We make this a priority and are constantly striving to ensure that safety is never compromised when it comes to your accounts.  Informing you of this scam is just an additional way we can maintain this level of security.

If you suspect that you have been targeted by this scam, please forward the email to rwright@centrisfcu.org.