Don’t Get Hooked by a “Phisher”
By Bill English

The damage it causes ranges from e-mail abuse to substantial financial loss. It caused an estimated 1.2 million computer users in the United States to suffer a loss totaling approximately $929 million. U.S. businesses lose an estimated $2 billion a year from it. We’re talking about “phishing”.

Phishing is a term coined by hackers who use e-mail lures to ‘phish’ passwords and financial data from the sea of Internet users. These e-mails appear to be from a merchant or financial institution and typically ask you to respond with personal information or instruct you to click on a link and fill out personal information on a website. These websites have become very sophisticated and often look identical to genuine businesses and financial institutions.

Our members here at IBEW/SJ Cascade FCU have even recently been targeted by these scammers. Some of our members received an e-mail that appeared to be from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). It stated that CUNA had “researched transactions” and needed to verify some information and asked our members to “click on a link” that was embedded in the e-mail. This then sent our members to a fraudulent website that looked identical to CUNA’s website. As soon as we heard, we sent out a mailing to all members on our e-mail mailing list warning them of the fraud.

With the number of reported phishing incidents on the rise (reports have doubled in the last year), you need to be aware of the scam techniques and how to combat them.

There are a few things you can keep in mind to protect yourself:

• First of all, know that you should never trust or act upon unsolicited e-mails that request personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, ATM PINs, social security numbers, etc. IBEW/SJ Cascade FCU will never send an e-mail requesting you to verify sensitive information online, nor should anyone else.
• If you are concerned about an account, contact the organization mentioned in the e-mail using a telephone number you know to be genuine.
• Review your credit card and credit union account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges.
• Forward the message that is phishing for information to the company, organization, or financial institution impersonated in the e-mail. This will notify them of the situation and they may be able to notify other members of the attempted fraud.
• Put your e-mail address on our fraud alert e-mail list to be alerted to phishing attempts as soon as we become aware of them. Simply e-mail info@ibewsjcu.org and request to be added to the fraud alert e-mail list.

As always, we here at IBEW/SJ Cascade FCU are doing everything we can to keep your information private and your accounts secure. We offer online banking as well as audio banking so that you can keep close track of your accounts.

As you are looking over your credit card statements this holiday season, think of IBEW/SJ Cascade FCU for bringing your monthly payments down. We have several financing options available that can save you money by paying off those high interest retail and credit cards. Stop by our office or give us a call today to see just how much you can save! Our phone number is (503) 581-6221 or outside the Salem area (800) 642-5182. Our office is located at 1825 12 th St SE Suite 130, Salem, OR 97302. We look forward to talking with you.