LATEST ONLINE SCAMS

We hear about online fraud attempts, primarily via e-mail (known as "Phishing"), all the time.  Here are the latest scams we've seen. 

New type of fraudulent activity:  Vishing (2/13/08).  Consumers are become more aware of e-mail fraud, so crooks are trying another avenue - "Vishing."  Vishing (a combination of voice and phishing) uses traditional phone services to attempt to obtain your account information.  An example of vishing:  You may receive a call with a recorded message, telling you your credit card or savings/checking account has been breached and to immediately call a number provided in the recorded message.  The phone number leads you to a "fraudulent call center" with  representatives who attempt to obtain your account/personal information for fraudulent purposes.  

Vishing is hard for authorities to monitor or trace (it often uses Voice over Internet Protocal technology).   Consumers are advised to be highly suspicious when receiving messages (telephone, e-mail or otherwise) directing them to call and provide personal/account information.  If you get such a message, instead of calling the number provided, you should contact your financial institution or credit card company directly to verify the validity of the message - using the phone number you know to be legitimate for that institution.

Phishing Examples:  We've also seen phishing attempts that appear to be from the "VISA Security Department" and from NCUA (the National Credit Union Administration). These false e-mails asked the recipient to click on a link to verify personal account information.  If the recipient proceeded to do so, the link directed them to a false website.

Your credit union and NCUA do not ask members for personal information via e-mail.  These e-mails should be considered a deceitful attempt to obtain account and/or cardholder information with the intent of committing fraudulent activity against your account.

If you responded to such an e-mail and provided confidential account information, please notify First Financial as soon as possible.  If you think you have received a fraudulent e-mail purportedly from NCUA, please forward the entire e-mail message to Phishing@ncua.gov.

Additionally, you can file a formal complaint concerning any suspected fraudulent e-mail with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) at http://www.ic3.gov/.  The IFCC is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Get more information on the latest scams (online as well as other forms) at the National Consumers League's Fraud Center.  Visit their check fraud site for more details on check fraud.