Scams and Alerts

Another Version of Zeus is on the Loose

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently issued an alert on a new version of the Zeus Trojan called Gameover, which is distributed via spear phishing attacks aimed at commercial accounts and ultimately lead to account takeovers. Emails purporting to be from NACHA inform the victim organizations of a failed ACH transaction. The victim's computer is infected with the Trojan when they click on the link contained in the email.

The most recent Scam

The Maine Credit Union League is issuing a Fraud Alert to make credit unions aware of suspicious activity that has been reported.

Credit union members and non-members have reported receiving phone calls from an automated service stating that their accounts have been breached due to debit card activity. This is a scam. Credit unions have advised members not to respond to these calls, and contact the credit union directly if they had any questions regarding calls of this nature.

Scams

We have gotten a couple of calls from members telling us that they have received a phone call about their debit cards. The automated message told them that for some reason their card was deactivated, and if they would like to reactivate it, press 1. Please do not do anything, if possible write down the number, and hang up as soon as possible. We would call you ourselves and talk to you before we would deactivate a card. If you get this recording call us as soon as possible at 945-6264 so we can keep an eye on your account.

12 Days of Holiday Fraud Prevention Tips for Members:

1. Always make sure your receipt reflects the correct transaction amount
   
2. When entering your PIN number ensure that someone is not able to see you enter the PIN by keeping your body or wallet in front of the keypad
3. Lower your credit line limit during the holidays
4. When using a debit card, you may select "credit"; this requires a signature therefore providing more protection for the member under the Visa/MasterCard association rules
   
5. Review all accounts activity and daily
6. When paper checks are converted at a merchant to ACH, store the voided checks safely to prevent fraud or unauthorized transaction
   
7. Be suspicious of emails from unknown parties: don't open emails from any unknown source
8. Save your credit unions website address in your favorites to avoid "spoofed" websites that could steal your information
9. Only shop online with merchants who require security information such as address verification and the CVV2/CVC2 number on the back of your card
10. When shopping in person or using an ATM, be aware of your surroundings and report any unusual activities to your credit union
11. Don't leave your purse, wallet, or cards unattended
12. If an offer seems to good to be true, it probably is, so BE CAUTIOUS
    

Related Resources:

FBI'S Holiday Shopping Alert issued December 1,2009

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/dec09/scams_120109.html

FTC's OnGuard Online Shopping Report

http://www.onguardonline.gov/topics/online-shopping.aspx

CUNA Mutual RISK Alert on Phishing Scams issued October 29,2009

https://sites.cunamutual.com/cmg/secured/protresource/ssl/riskAlertDetail/0,1579,22929,00.html

Recent scam.

Please be very careful on websites with a "Free Trial Offer" or "Only $1.00 to try" this does not necessarily mean it is free. Majority of the time this is an open door for fraudulent activity to occur specially when a Visa Debit Card account number is entered into a database to pay for shipping or for the dollar charge. Once they have your debit card number they can use it for anything. Just be very careful when giving out your debit card number.

Scams & Alerts

We have been notified from Card Services of a scam going around right now. It is called SMiShing attacks (also known as text phishing). It has impacted cardholders of financial institutions loacted primarily in the eastern region of the U.S.

SMiShing is a type of social engineering that uses cell phone text messages to persuade victims to provide personal information such as card number, CVV2, and PINs. The text message may contain either a website address or more commonly, a phone number that connects to an automated voice response system, which then asks for personal information.

Here are some examples of SMiShing messages recently sent to cardholders:

Text message originating from either notice@jpecu or message@cccu:    

• ABC CU-has-deactivated-your-Debt card
• This is an automated message from ABC Bank. Your ATM card has been suspended. To reactivate call urgent at 1-866-215-XXXX.
  

Text message originating from sms.alert@visa.com:

• sms.alert@visa.com/VISA. (Card Blocked) Alert. For more information please call 1-877-269-XXXX.

Although we or our business partners may ask you for  personal information to confirm identification such as your name, date of birth, and/or last four digits of your SSN, we will never ask for a CVV2 or a PIN. If you  contact the telephone number or website referenced in the SMiShing message and provide them with the PIN, PIN fraud may be imminent. Please call us at 207-945-6264 or the phone number on the back of the card which is (800)472-3272  to have the card restricted.