Fraudsters are finding new ways to lure you into disclosing your personal and financial information. While the style and type of information is constantly evolving, there are phishing scams that continue to affect everyone.
These scammers need your personal and financial information to put money into their pockets – regardless if the money comes from your savings, checking or loan accounts. Time and again, scammers are successful in identifying and targeting the weakest link to enable this crime.
The credit union industry continues to communicate the various types of phishing (email), smishing (text message), vishing (landline), VoIP (internet phones) and mail letter phishing scams.
These tactics are working because members continue to disclose their information. Bringing awareness to our members and educating you on the changing phishing landscape is critical for the financial industry as a whole and Florida Telco.
The following are phishing techniques that fraudsters are using to capture your personal and financial information:
- Scam: Social Networks
Be wary of clicking any links in emails or accessing social networking sites for holiday themes such as Halloween upon us. Holiday scams contain links that redirect you to an indirect site registered by the fraudster.
Prevention:
Close your browser if you see a link to download or install an application. - Scam: Text Messaging
Fraudster sends a text message (smishing) and you respond to the request.
Prevention:
Be alert when text messages appear on their cell phone, smart phone or PDA device. If the text message requests personal or financial information, contact the credit union immediately and not respond to the text message. If a smishing attack occurs, Florida Telco will proactively communicate to you via our website and any other means deemed necessary. - Scam: System Intrusions
Fraudsters are focused on phishing for your account numbers, passwords and user names to get into the home banking system. The financial industry has shown an up-tick in system intrusions through unauthorized ACH and/or wire requests.
Prevention:
Florida Telco implemented multifactor authentication to prevent fraudsters from gaining access to systems. Monitor your transaction activity daily to help identify any unauthorized activity. Watch for unauthorized ACH or wire transfers. Never share your user names, passwords or any account information.
- Scam: Call Forwarding
Fraudster is call forwarding your landline or cell phone number to another telephone. In most cases, it’s a prepaid cell phone.
Prevention:
Place a password on your telephone numbers to prevent them from being call forwarded. - Scam: Voice Vishing
This scam attempts to trick you into providing personal and financial information over the phone. Most vishing scams begin with an email or text message asking your member to call a toll-free number. When you call the number, you are led through a series of voice prompted menus that ask for key financial information such as a card or account number and the PIN.
Prevention:
Do not call the telephone number. Rather, they should report this to the credit union and telecommunications carrier immediately. This number needs to be shut down to help prevent others from responding to the attack.
NOTE: Florida Telco does use automated phone calls for late credit card payments. Should you receive one of these calls, the system will only ask for the last four digits of your social and your date of birth. In no case would it ask for an entire account number or a PIN. - Scam: Spoofing Caller ID
Calls from either a live person or a recorded message with a spoofed caller ID. The caller ID may list a legitimate looking telephone number. Fraudsters have spoofed caller ID systems or assign any area code to a phone number so it appears to be an 800 number or a local number.
Prevention:
Never provide any personal or financial information to the caller. Always hang up and contact the credit union to report this activity. Florida Telco will not request personal or financial information from you via a telephone call.
Information provided by CUNA.