Menominee County FCU - Scam/Fraud Alerts

Fight Identity Theft

Never provide personal financial information, including your Social Security number, account number or passwords, over the phone or on the Internet if you did not initiate the contact.

Never click on a link provided in an e-mail that you believe is fraudulent. It may contain a virus that can contaminate your computer.

Do not be intimidated by an e-mail or caller who suggests dire consequences if you do not immediately provide or verify financial information.

If you believe that the contact is legitimate, go to the company’s Web site by typing in the site address directly or using a page you have previously book marked, instead of a link provided in an e-mail.

If you fall victim to an attack, act immediately to protect yourself. Alert your financial institution. Place fraud alerts on your credit files. Monitor your credit files and account statements closely.

Phishing

"Phishing" is an Internet scam that tries to trick you into giving out your personal and financial information. The "phisher" pretends to be a legitimate financial institution or credit card company. They claim that you need to "update" or "validate" your account information. Once you clink on the link you are taken to a web site that looks like a legitimate financial organization – but it isn’t. If is a web site that is set up to steal your identity information, that information is then used to conduct fraudulent transactions. Please note that your Credit Union will never ask you by the way of e-mail for any confidential or financial information. If you ever receive an e-mail from a credit union that appears to be suspicious, please contact us immediately.

Lottery Scams

A lottery scam is another method that con artists use to try to trick you out of your money. Here is how the scam works: You will receive an official looking document or letter that claims that you are the winner in the Canadian (or other foreign country) lottery and enclosed will be a check. There will also be instructions on how to claim your prize. It will also claim that you will need to pay a fee, which is what the check is for. All you need to do is cash the check and send in the fee in the form of a money order or wire transfer and await further instructions.

Once you deposit the check and send the money off to Canada (or where ever) it will bounce. It is not until then that you realize what happened. This scam is not new, we hear about different variations of it often. It is up to you to be cautious. Do not trust something that you never even signed up for, especially a lottery in a foreign country. Never send money to claim a prize. You must also remember that the money paid to the scammer cannot be recovered.

Institutions Requesting Information!

Local and nationsl credit union members are being called on their home phones and being asked if they would like to apply for a loan, lower their interest rate on their credit card and being asked other personal information such as their Social Security number, birthdate, pin numbers and debit/credit card numbers. Menominee County Federal Credit Union will never call their members requesting any personal information over the phone. NEVER give out your personal information over the phone but if you have please contact the creidt union immediately.

Cell Phones not Immune to Fraud!

New Scam called "smishing" uses text messages!

Fraudsters are now sending text messages to Credit Union and other financial institution members' wireless devices to lure them into giving personal information. In "smishing", the members receive a text message via cell phone warning that their credit union account has been closed due to suspicious activity. It then tells them they need to call a certain phone number to reactivate the account.

Unsuspecting callers who dial the number provided in the text message will be taken to an automated voice mail box that prompts them to key in their credit or debit card number, expiration date and PIN to verify their information.

If you have questions concerning your account or credit/debit card, contact your financial institution directly using their local phone number or the credit/debit card company using the telephone number on the back of your card.

Be suspicious of any e-mail, text message or phone call with urgent requests for personal financial information.
Do not open unsolicited e-mails of text messages. Any e-mail or text message asking the cardholder to call a toll-free number to verify account information should be deleted. Don't use the links in an e-mail you receive. Never provide personal information or account information based on an e-mail or text request.
When receiving a phone call from someone asking for credit/debit card or personal information, simply hang up and report the incident by contaction the financial institution that issued the card by using the phone number on the back of the card or on a recent statement.
Calls from someone who claims to be from a financial institution and knows your credit/debit card account number - but who wants the three-digit code on the back of the card for whatever reason - should be treated the same way. Hang up and call the card issuer as soon as possible.
Always be suspicious of any phone or e-mail contact that doesn't use your first name or surname.
Be wary of any text message received from an unknown sender.
Don't display your wireless number or e-mail address in public. This includes newsgroups, chat rooms, web sites or membership directories.
If you open an unwanted message, send a stop or opt out message in response.
Check the privacy policy when submitting your wireless phone number or e-mail address to any web site. Find out if the policy allows the company to sell your information.
Contact your wireless or internet service provider about unwanted messages.
Essentially, never dial a call return number - or reply to an e-mail - regarding any financial matters.

Please remember that this Credit Union, the NCUA, CUNA, CUNA Mutual, the Co-op Network, or any other organization pertaining to credit unions, DOES NOT e-mail, text message or telephone our members asking for personal information such as complete social security numbers, account numbers, dates of birth, etc. For that matter, no legitimate company that you do business with solicits this information. THEY ALREADY HAVE IT!

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