4.5.12 - RECENT CARD BREACH COULD INCREASE PHISHING  

On the heels of the recent Global Payments breach, credit unions members are at risk for potential increased phishing attacks. These attacks could also target members who were not impacted by the recent card breach.  Be aware of any suspicious emails, text messages or phone calls requesting any personal or financial information.

The next several days or weeks are critical for credit union members to be on the alert for any suspicious emails, text messages or phone calls requesting personal or financial information, especially card data. The card information that may be requested includes, cardholder billing address, 3 digit CVV2/CVC2 code found on the back of the card, or enrollment criteria/passwords for Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode. This card information was not part of the recent Global Payments breach. Criminals may ask members for this information to add to the other card data they may have obtained from the breach to perform card present (key entered) or card-not-present (mail/telephone/internet) non-magnetic stripe transactions.

REMEMBER: never respond to emails, text messages or phone calls requesting your personal account information. If you receive a suspicious request,  immediately contact the credit union.

2.21.12 - HOPEWELL FEDERAL WARNS OF PHISHING, VISHING & SMISHING SCAMS

THE FACTS
There has been a recent surge in fraudulent attempts to obtain account information claiming to be from Hopewell Federal Credit Union.  Beginning Saturday, February 19th, we started receiving reports of members and non-members receiving a text messages to falsely alert them their credit cards had been deactivated.  HOPEWELL FCU DID NOT SEND THIS MESSAGE. 

The message sent to cell phone reads:
HOPEWELL F.C.U ALERT: Your CARD starting with 5510 has been DEACTIVATED. Please contact us at XXX-XXX-XXXX
If you did not reveal any information to the phone number on the text, your credit card information was NOT compromised.  If you did reveal this information to the number provided on the text, please contact Hopewell Federal as soon as possible at 740.522.8311 or info@hopewellfcu.org.

In addition, we had a single report of someone contacting a member via phone posing as HOPEWELL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION FRAUD PREVENTION BUSTERS.  Hopewell does not have an organization with this title and would like to remind you that we will NEVER contact you and ask you to reveal sensitive account information.  Even if someone seeks confirmation of your account information, DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION.  Your account information and address does appear on your checks and criminals may use this to appear credible and “verify” information prior to inviting you to reveal Social Security numbers or other sensitive information. 

We are working with local law enforcement, F.B.I., phone companies and our credit card company to resolve the issue.  We also want to assure you that we have insurance coverage for this type of loss through Cuna Mutual Group and your deposit accounts are fully insured up to $250,000 by the NCUA. 
In many cases, the people committing these scams do not know where you have an account, or even if you have a debit card, let alone which financial institution you use.  They are trying to scare you and get you to call them and reveal your account and personal information. 

This is a very inopportune situation and Hopewell Federal Credit Union is here to assist you.  Fraud scams are an unfortunate part of technology and despite every effort of prevention, criminal behavior still exists.  We would like to remind everyone that Hopewell Federal will NEVER request your account information via text, phone or email.  Under no circumstances should you ever reveal your account information to anyone who contacts you via text, phone or email. 

Hopewell Federal Credit Union is committed to preserving your privacy and security.  Please remember...Hopewell Federal and its affiliate partners will NEVER request your sensitive account information via text, phone or email.   Again, Hopewell Federal Credit Union is here to assist you during this challenging time.  

FRAUD DEFINITIONS
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Vishing also called (Voice Phishing) is the voice counterpart to the phishing scheme. Instead of being directed by an email to a website, the user is asked to make a telephone call.
SMiShing is a spin-off version of Vishing.  In this instance the victim receives a text message via their cell phone with the implications that there is a threat to their account and request a callback to a number provided in the message.  The social engineering tactics used are the same as the phishing and vishing attacks; the only difference is the delivery method.

PREVENTION
• Remember….Hopewell Federal Credit Union will never call, email or text requesting your account number, social security number or last four digits of either.
• Ignore e-mails or pop-up messages that request personal or financial information
• Don’t use links in messages, even if the message appears to come from your credit union. Enter your credit union’s Web address in the browser yourself.  Phishers can make links look like they go one place, but it actually send you to their legitimate-looking fake site.
• Read carefully. Typically, phishing messages are not personalized, whereas official credit union communications are. A typical warning sign is that the communication presents an urgent nature to the request. 
• Call Hopewell Federal Credit Union at 740.522.8311 to confirm the message. Always use the phone number printed on official statements or credit cards.  Do not use the number that appears in the message.
• Keep your home and work computers safe with current technology solutions, including gateway routers and virus/malware/spyware detection software, which will help prevent virus infections and warn when you are attempting to access a known phishing site.
• Don’t e-mail personal or financial information.
• Review credit card and account statements, as well as online transaction, as soon as they are available to check for unauthorized charges.
• Only open attachments or download files that you have requested or subscribed to.
• Forward phishing e-mails as an attachment to spam@uce.gov and the impersonated organization impersonated.
• If you’ve been scammed, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft Web site at www.ftc.gov/idtheft for assistance. Also, file a complaint on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center Web site, www.ic3.gov/.

Hopewell Federal Credit Union FAQ's

Locations 501 Hopewell Dr.; Heath, OH 43056 and 1690 N. 21st St.; Newark, OH 43055                                                                                                

Direct Mail P.O. Box 2157; Heath, OH 43056

Call Us (740) 522-8311- Operator for both locations.

Fax Us (740) 522-1577

E-mail Us You can contact a member service associate via e-mail by clicking info@hopewellfcu.org

E-mail Disclaimer Hopewell Federal Credit Union wants to inform all credit union members that this is an unsecured e-mail. Please DO NOT supply any personal information such as your account number, member number, social security number or mother’s maiden name.