Fraud/ID Theft

UCF Federal Credit Union will NEVER contact you via email, text or phone to conduct an account update or to request your account password or other personal information.

This advisory was posted by the NCUA on May 25, 2010, and is being forwarded to you as a courtesy.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is reporting recently simulated NCUA email boxes. The fraudulent emails solicit credit union member participation in an Online Survey or Member Survey, and promise compensation of $40 as an inducement to respond to the email.

The emails are fraudulent, and may be an attempt to obtain confidential member information. NCUA does not solicit such information from credit union members. This is a phishing activity with no NCUA activity or approval. If you have received these emails please do not respond. If you have any questions or concerns please email NCUA at pacamail@ncua.gov.

The FBI has published this fraud alert in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. Please be cautious if you receive an appeal for contributions to assist in the relief effort.

01/13/10 The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.

Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:

Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.

Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.

Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.

Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.

Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.

Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.

Anyone who has received an e-mail referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center)via www.ic3.gov

Credit Union members, who are seeking employment, are falling victim to a new internet hiring scam where fraudsters are using the newly hired person's account at the CU to move money. CU staff and especially tellers should be on the look out for unusual activity in a member's account and to help educate members about these employment scams.

The Scam? Fraudsters are setting up what looks to be a new employment opportunity on the internet and hiring people to work from their homes. The newly hired person (the member) is being used to move money through their account and losses are occurring. Reports show that the hiring company deposits funds into the member’s personal account as an ACH credit. The member is then asked to withdraw part or all of the funds and wire the money to the hiring companies “business partners”.

CU’s should watch for incoming ACH credits of amounts less then $10,000 and within a day or so, those funds being withdrawn by the member. Subsequent ACH credits can occur daily through the member’s account and the potential loss can escalate.

Loss Prevention - To help prevent these losses, communicate with your members and have them be wary of work at home scams; use the Better Business Bureaus to check out companies and suggest to your members that they notify the CU of employment-related activities that involve their personal accounts.