FRAUD ALERTS                              Provided by SELCO Community Credit Union

Sept. 27, 2008

Some members have received fraudulent phone calls in a phone “vishing” scam attempting to obtain personal financial information. SELCO would NEVER call and ask for this information!

The call starts by stating that your account has been compromised...

If you responded to that message with your SELCO account information, please call SELCO at (541) 686-8000 during business hours or after hours (800) 682-6075 to block your card. If you have additional concerns, please contact us at during regular business hours.

April 29, 2008

People have been reporting fraudulent emails and phone calls purported to be from the IRS regarding the stimulus check. The email informs the reader that the easiest way to receive a refund is by direct deposit to their savings/checking account. The email looks similar to this:

Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as
part of President Bush program to jumpstart the economy.

Our records indicate that you are qualified to receive the
2008 Economic Stimulus Refund.

The fastest and easiest way to receive your refund is by
direct deposit to your checking/savings account.

Please click on the link and fill out the form and submit
before May 01th, 2008 to ensure that your refund will be
processed as soon as possible.

Submitting your form on May 01th, 2008 or later means that
your refund will be delayed due to the volume of requests we
anticipate for the Economic Stimulus Refund.

To access Economic Stimulus Refund, please click here.

Do not click the link or give information. The IRS already has the information this fake email is attempting to collect. If you did give your information and fear you may be a victim of fraud please contact SELCO at (541) 686-8000 during business hours or after hours (800) 682-6075 to correct this issue.

April 19, 2008

Some members have received fraudulent text messages in a “phishing” scam attempting to obtain personal financial information.

If you responded to that message with your SELCO account information, please call SELCO at (541) 686-8000 during business hours or after hours (800) 682-6075 to block your card. If you have additional concerns, please contact us at during regular business hours.

January 15, 2008

November 2, 2007

Fraudulent Cashier's Checks
We have discovered counterfeit cashiers checks bearing SELCO Community Credit Union's logo are being circulated. The counterfeit checks have the SELCO logo in the bottom left side of the check. 

They have circulated as far as New York. They are being used as Lottery Winner Scams and are also being used to make purchases off of craig's list.
If you have received a check for either of the above reasons it is safe to assume they are counterfeit.

August 23, 2007

Phone Call Fraud Alert
Multiple reports have come from the Eugene area of an active Phishing scam attempting to steal account information. The scam is similar to one that occurred at First Tech CU earlier this week which was widely covered in the media.

The reports indicate that some consumers are receiving an automated phone message *claiming to come from a local credit union. The call claims to be from the "billing and payments department" of "XYZ" credit union, and instructs the person to enter their debit/VISA card number. If a number is not entered, the caller repeats the instructions several more times. If no information is provided, after several attempts to get the card number, the caller hangs up. If the number is provided the caller goes on to ask for additional information such as CVC and PIN.

It is important to remember that SELCO Community Credit Union would never call members and ask for specific account information. If you feel you may have been caught in one of these scams and have given your SELCO account information, please call 800-445-4483 to speak to one of SELCO's account representatives.

For more information about how to protect yourself, please visit the following web sites.
http://www.phishinginfo.org/
http://www.fraud.org/tips/internet/phishing.htm

April 19, 2007

PIN Reversals do not signal duress
Various chain emails greatly distort PIN reversal practices
The Internet can often quickly spread “urban myth” stories. But few stories gain rapid appeal with so many potentially negative impacts on cardholder safety and confidence. There are misleading stories circulating the Internet regarding PIN reversal to signal duress. Pin reversal technology is a concept based on the possibility that a cardholder could remember and reverse his or her PIN at an ATM to draw attention in a dangerous situation. Critics say that it is unlikely that anyone under duress could successfully pull this off without compromising personal safety. Not to mention if your PIN number is 1221 or 3223 in those cases this concept could not be possible because it would be the same either way. If you reverse your PIN in the machine the only thing that will happen is you will have a mismatch and risk the card being taken in the machine.

The PIN reversal emails that people are receiving are bogus. It will not alert the police and could put you in more danger. Always be aware of your surrounding when doing transactions at the ATM.

April 19, 2007

Free Gambling on the Internet is never free
Do you like to play free games on the Internet? If so, please read the following:
Free gambling websites for entertainment only? It sounds too good to be true and it is. Nothing in this world is ever “free,” there is always a catch. Every time you register on the Internet, you are giving out personal information about yourself. This could include income category, gender, age,  life choices and shopping preferences.  Legitimate companies are trying to gather a way to contact you through your email or home address and profile you; so they can sell you something. Legitimate “free” gambling sites are encouraging you to go to one of their “play for money” gambling sites.

Criminals play up the fact that everyone wants to play for free. They create “free” gambling websites to steal your identity or your money. These types of scams are currently on the rise as are drive by viruses which do not require you to download anything to infect your computer. You only need to visit one of these websites for spyware or worse to be introduced onto your personal computer.

Be cautious when you are surfing the Internet.

Phishing Email from NCUA
Members are reporting that they are receiving emails that appear to be from NCUA. These messages include NCUA’s logo and are addressed to “Credit Union holder account.” The first paragraph states, “Your credit union has joined our Federal Credit Union FCU network. For security, we are asking you to activate an online account on our database. After activation you can login to our system with your SSN and your credit/debit PIN number.” This message includes a link to a phony website.

What to do if you receive an unsolicited email alleging to be from NCUA.
If you do receive an email alleging to be from the National Credit Union Association take the following steps:

• Remember that the NCUA does not ask credit union members for personal account information so do not give any information.
• Anyone who has received a fraudulent phishing email allegedly from NCUA should forward the entire email to Phishing@ncua.gov.
• Do not open attachments to the email, as they may contain malicious codes that will infect your computer.
• If you have received this, or a similar hoax, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.
  

A New Twist to Phishing Scams
There is an email in circulation that is enticing credit union members to complete a survey in exchange for a $50 credit to their account. The catch – it is an attempt to gain your personal financial information. Do not be tempted by the financial incentive to complete the survey. It is a scam! Previous phishing attempts were geared at updating your records to prevent account blocks, however, this is a new method. The destination website of the scam is mimicking the creditunion.coop website; CUNA is investigating.

Scam Details: Email comes from America’s Credit Union (creditunion.ccop@ncua.gov).

Email text:

“Dear Credit Union Client,
You have been chosen by the America's Credit Unions to take part in our quick and easy 5 question survey. In return we will credit $50 to your account, just for your time! With the information collected we can decide to direct a number of changes to improve and expand the online services.
The information you provide us is all non-sensitive and anonymous. No part of it is handed down to any third party groups.
It will be stored in our secure database while we process the results of this nationwide survey.
We kindly ask you to spare two minutes of your time in taking part with this unique offer!”

Sincerely,
America’s Credit Unions.

The link provided in the email takes the person to a short survey and then asks for personal information, to receive the “$50 Reward”, including the persons name, credit card number (with expiration date), ATM PIN (as the electronic signature), and email address.

November 29, 2005
Fraud in the form of online scams is a growing issue that you need to watch out for. Here are some common sense tips to help remind you to be careful, especially when contacted by email.

• Use Your Head - Ask yourself if the offer looks too good to be true.  If the answer is yes, it is probably someone trying to hook you into their scam.
• Who Is Asking? - It is best to treat every email that is asking for something from you with skepticism. All of these intriguing email propositions are meant to steal your money.  They can potentially put you at risk in any number of scams no matter what the offer is.
• Ask For Help - If you are looking to invest your money, start first with a local financial institution or planner.  These professionals can help you determine the proper method for investing your money.  Asking for trusted professional help is much better than relying on an unknown emailer from the Philippines or Nigeria.
• Know The Source - Email scams have thousands of variations.  The wording can change but they all focus on asking you for something.  Legitimate organizations will not ask you for such things as personal information or money up front to make a deal.  If they do, a red flag should go up to avoid such an offer.
• Educate Yourself - Keeping on top of email scams can be difficult.  Here are a couple of web sites that may help keep you ahead of the scammers:

  www.scambusters.org

  www.fraudaid.com

November 18, 2005
Nigerian Counterfeit Check Fraud and Check-Processing Business Fraud
Between February and June of 2003 more than $25 Million dollars disappeared into Nigeria, Kuwait, and China as a result of the latest Nigerian fraud - counterfeit checks. This fraudulent email has evolved and is still circulating in various forms across the Internet. Email users should educate themselves about this fraudulent activity to determine the validity of emails making monetary promises before acting.

Below are links to learn more about how to prevent this fraud from happening to you:

Secret Service : http://www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml
419 Coalition site: http://home.rica.net/alphae/419coal/
Fraud-aid link: http://www.fraudaid.com/ScamSpeak/Nigerian/I'veReceivedaNigerianLetter-WhatDo-I-Do.htm

November 14, 2005
Internet/E-Mail Fraud Alert - Fraudulent Email Posing as NCUA
Recently, there have been multiple e-mail fraud attempts, known as "Phishing”, that were initiated via e-mail sent to both the general public and to some credit union members that appeared to be from NCUA. This false e-mail asked for the recipient to click on a link to verify their credit union account registration. If the recipient proceeded to do so, the link directed them to a false website and asked for their credit union account number and PIN, along with other personal information.

The subject line of this fraudulent email is "You Must Update Your Account Information."

NCUA does not ask credit unions members for such personal information. Anyone who receives an e-mail that purports to be from NCUA and asks for account information should consider it to be a fraudulent attempt to obtain their personal account data for an illegal purpose and should not follow the instructions in the e-mail.

If you responded to such an e-mail and provided any confidential account information, please notify your credit union immediately of the scheme. You should also change your account’s PIN, and take any additional action recommended by your credit union to protect your account.

If you feel that you have received a fraudulent phishing e-mail purportedly from NCUA please forward the entire e-mail message to Phishing@ncua.gov

Additionally, you can file formal complaints concerning any suspected fraudulent e-mail with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) at ncua@ic3.gov. The IFCC is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Fraudulent Email Posing as SELCO Community Credit Union
If you receive an email with the subject line "Your Account is Suspended," asking you to "confirm the attached document," please disregard and immediately delete this email. This is a "Spoof" email. It is not from SELCO Community Credit Union. SELCO will never send emails to members asking for personal member information. If you receive any emails from SELCO asking you to provide or confirm personal information, please delete the email and inform us immediately.

Subject: Your Account is Suspended
Dear Selco Member,Your e-mail account was used to send a huge amount of unsolicited spam messages during the recent week. If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and confirm the attached document so you will not run into any future problems with the online service.
If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to cancel your membership.
Virtually yours,
The Selco Support Team

PAYPAL ACCOUNT PHISHING ATTEMPTS
Please be aware that there is a PayPal phishing scam circulating that could lead people into reporting their sensitive financial information to a fake PayPal website where this information will be stolen. Remember, as a general rule, legitimate entities you do business with should never ask you for sensitive information via an email or phone call. If one of your account providers sends you an email prompting you to take any kind of action, be sure to always verify that the URL (website address) they are sending you to is the legitimate company website address. If you're not sure, type in the address manually to be sure you are visiting the real website.

For more information: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/general/SecuritySpoof-outside

A person in Ghana, Africa obtains stolen credit card numbers, then calls merchants via the telephone relay for the Deaf and orders items using the credit card numbers. The merchant obtains an authorization, without asking for the three-digit security code from the back of the card, and ships the product to the buyer at the following address:

Harrison Hills
213 Loveridge Circle
Pittsburg, California

Discover, VISA, and MasterCard numbers were used, all through a TDD network. Mostly rural and small merchants were targeted. Most items purchased were for domestic-type items, such as sewing machines. States hit so far have been Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, and Idaho.

Detective Ron Huppert from the Pittsburg, California, police department indicates that the woman who was receiving the items being shipped (via UPS) has been arrested. She indicated she developed a relationship with someone over the Internet, and he asked her to accept the items being shipped. Some of the items, including one shipped from Lewiston, were intercepted and returned to the merchant.

If this or a similar scam has hit you, please us immediately at 1-800-445-4483.

New Credit Card Scam

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself..

One of our employees was call ed on Wednesday from 'VISA ', and I was calledon Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona?'

When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just und er the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'

You say 'yes '. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security.'

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you someti mes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' A fter you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't giv e it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

Consumer Alert - Consumers Receiving Email Scams from Individuals Posing as FDIC
E-mails to financial institution customers that fraudulently claim to be from the FDIC attempt to obtain highly sensitive personal information, including bank account information. These e-mails falsely indicate that FDIC deposit insurance is suspended until the requested customer information is provided.

SELCO members have reported that they have indeed received these e-mails. If you are a SELCO member and have received a similiar email, DO NOT reply with the information requested and DO NOT access the website link identified in the e-mail.

The FDIC has a consumer alert posted on their website, and is working to track down the individuals responsible. Consumers receiving this e-mail may file a complaint on the website listed below.

The FDIC website to view the FDIC Consumer Alert and post a complaint is: http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/SpecialAlert/2004/sa0504.html.