Tag: REGIONAL Federal Credit Union

Vishing attack using REGIONAL Federal Credit Union

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Phishing, vishing and SMiShing perpetrators usually go for the larger, national retail banks (Chase, Fifth Third, etc.). Their reasoning is that these banks have millions of customers, so if you send out ten million emails, half a million of those people will actually be customers of whatever bank you’ve chosen to impersonate (and several thousand will actually fall for it).

Sometimes they go for the smaller financial institutions, though. Just over the past few days, people have reported receiving calls that claim to come from REGIONAL. Hey, that’s us!

These calls attempt to trick victims into entering their debit card numbers on the phone’s keypad. Since we’ve received several reports from people who tell us they just hung up, I take it as a good sign that many of our members aren’t being fooled, but as I’ve said before: nobody is invulnerable. Even a jaded, cynical scam blogger can be tricked, given the right (or wrong, I suppose) circumstances.

This is one of those cases where asking, “Who initiated contact?” is your best friend. Your phone rang and someone asked you to reveal personal information. That’s your cue to hang up the telephone. No financial institution has any reason to call you and ask for information that they gave to you in the first place.

Fraudulent advertisements: anybody can do it!

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Here is a list of things that literally anyone can do:

  1. Run an advertisement in the classified section of the newspaper
  2. Start a website
  3. Send an email message
  4. Tape a poster or sign to a telephone pole

This is an important fact to remember when you’re considering whether or not to call a phone number or give your name and other personal information out over the Internet.

I was reminded of this when I heard that the U.S. Postal Service jobs scam I wrote about just the other day had showed up in one of the newspapers here in Northwest Indiana. An employee here at REGIONAL called the number, just to see if it was the same rip-off I posted about. She told me, “The first thing out of her mouth was, ‘It’s $129.95. Will that be credit or debit?'”

There is no vetting process in the classifieds. Newspapers do not check out alleged businesses before running their ads. I could call them up right now and, as long as I paid for it, run an ad that said, “Build your own flying saucer out of household materials! Capable of inter-planetary travel. Seats 4 adults. Plans only $99.95” and they would run it (just like they would also run one that said, “Be a secret shopper! $483/day!”). They just don’t have the resources to verify the claims of every advertiser.

The Internet is the same way, only worse. Anybody can create a website, and make it look very slick and professional. There is absolutely no physical barrier to lying on a website, or setting up a fake business that just steals money or personal information.

Heck, I could say this site is “as seen on MSNBC,” even though it hasn’t been. Yet.

Actually, when you link to a CNN.com article, as I’ve done a few times, a link to your article shows up at the bottom of their page in the “From the Blogs” section. So I could say the Fraud Prevention Unit is “as seen on CNN,” right?

Right?

Okay, fine. I’ll have to wait for my Larry King interview. Or maybe an hour-long special! Or…

Credit Repair Scams

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They’re out there.

They’re waiting for you.

They say they want to help you. They say they can fix your less-than-perfect credit history.

What they really want is to rip you off.

Big time.

First off, it is important to know that there are legitimate agencies that can help you get your financial situation back on track. I’ll talk about some of those later.

However, there are also a lot of agencies looking to help themselves to your cash. Here are a few things to remember:

  1. You should never pay an upfront fee for any type of credit counseling service. This is a major warning sign that they are up to no good.
  2. They must (by law) provide you with a copy of your rights as a consumer. This tells you what you may and may not do in regards to your credit history. If they do not provide this information, it is another warning sign.
  3. If your credit history has accurate negative information, it’s there to stay for seven years (ten for bankruptcy). There is no legal way to have it removed. Are they offering to delete records of a credit card you actually defaulted on? Warning sign.
  4. If there are mistakes on your report, know that you can correct them yourself for free. If an agency is trying to keep you from contacting a credit bureau yourself, that’s…you guessed it: a warning sign.
  5. It is illegal to try to create a new Social Security number or Employer Identification number for the purpose of creating a clean credit file. It doesn’t work, and it can get you into far worse trouble (we’re talking about the kind of trouble that could involve handcuffs and mugshots).
  6. Check out any credit reporting agency with the Better Business Bureau before you even consider using their services.
  7. The minute they use the term “piggybacking,” walk away. It doesn’t work. Warning sign.
  8. There are advertisements everywhere for credit repair services—email messages, on the radio, even on television. I’m just going to throw this out there: ignore them all. Maybe some of them are legit, but many are not. Do your own research and make your own decision. A flashy commercial that makes big promises is a definite (say it with me) warning sign.
  9. Legitimate credit counseling agencies are non-profit organizations. Every single one of them.

So…now that you know how to avoid a scam, where can you go for legitimate credit couseling?

REGIONAL Federal Credit Union works with Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Northwest Indiana (http://www.cccsnwi.org/), a non-profit agency. REGIONAL partners with CCCSNWI because they’re trustworthy, and they do exactly what a credit counseling service should do.

You can also find information about legitimate services nationwide from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (http://www.nfcc.org/). They don’t work with scammers.

As always, before you use any credit counseling service, check them out with the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org). If they’re not BBB accredited, and if they don’t have a pretty spotless record, look elsewhere.

Personally, I’d never use an agency that had anything less than an “A+” rating.

Stay Vigilant

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Nobody is ever 100% safe from fraud, scams or identity theft. Even if you’ve done everything possible to prevent becoming a victim, it can still happen.

Take, for example, the data breach at Heartland Payment Systems a few months ago. Through no fault of their own, thousands of people experienced unauthorized use of their credit or debit cards. It wasn’t that they fell for a phishing email or a fake phone call. They simply made a purchase or two at a store or restaurant that used Heartland as their card processor.

However, there is no reason to panic. By taking simple steps to stay safe on your end, you can drastically reduce your chances of becoming a victim of fraud.

The key is to be informed and vigilant. Know what the threats are, know how to spot a scam and keep a close watch on your financial statements, and you’ll be miles ahead of where the crooks would like you to be.

That’s why REGIONAL Federal Credit Union is bringing you this new website. We believe that education is key to achieving financial security and independence.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. In fact, it is my aim to make this site as entertaining as possible (despite the admittedly bone-dry seriousness of this first post). I’ll be posting some Video Dispatches from the FPU very soon. Be sure to check those out. There’ll be enough weird props, strange pop culture references, silly music and bad acting for everyone, and you’ll learn something, too.

I’ll be learning, too. After all, there are new variations on these scams popping up all the time. It will be a chore to keep up, but I will do my best. In the meantime, questions, comments and suggestions are always welcome! Use the comment function below, or email me directly at cturpen@regionalfcu.org. Also be sure to follow the FPU on Twitter (@fraudprevunit). I’ll be posting tips and updates there as well.

And always remember: stay vigilant.