When was the last time you gave your personal banking information to a complete stranger over the telephone? How about someone who walked up to you on the street? If the answer is never, you are on the right track!
Email Money Transfer – Fraud
In this situation a criminal sends you a fake email notice of a pending Interac deposit someone has sent you. If you open the email and then click on the “deposit” link spyware or malware is loaded onto your computer.
Two clues to help you determine if this is fake are; one there often is no “To” address. And secondly if you move your cursor over the Deposit link you will notice it is not the same as what is being displayed.
Keystroke capture – Fraud
This fraud happens when the PC a member used for their online banking has been compromised. In particular by opening an email link that shouldn’t have been opened, a program can loaded onto the PC that allows a third party to capture your keystrokes. And if after that PC has been compromised, you have sign-on to do your banking, the criminal now has all your information required to log in as you, i.e. your account number, branch and PAC (Personal Access Code). Once they are logged in, they can see your accounts and their balance. From there they can add a utility bill and make a large of a payment as possible. Next day the cards (usually stolen or fraudulent) are then drain of the funds.
To counteract this threat, be conscious of what PC you use for banking and make sure it has proper anti-virus and spyware protection.
Phone Scam
Recently, some members have received a phone call from someone looking for personal information in order to process a service charge refund. If Peoples Credit Union wanted to process a service charge refund we would not call and ask for personal information. We have all the information we need. Please do not give any information to these callers. Phone scams have been around forever and will continue. Please be mindful of this if anyone asks you for personal information over the phone, now and in the future.
Old Scams Meet New Technology
In an increasingly connected world, with email and other online services having direct access into our homes and offices, it is now more important than ever to take a second look at the mail we open every day.
Who is 'Phishing' for Your Personal Information?
Some members will receive emails that seem legitimate and request updated billing, email or personal information. These emails are designed to trick you into revealing your private information -- possibly a Social Insurance Number, ATM PIN, bank account or credit card numbers. This practice has become known as "phishing".
To make these e-mails seem more realistic, the senders often duplicate the company logo and familiar formats or redirect to a fraudulent website. These emails are often masked under the name of a trusted source such as a trusted financial institution, an Internet Service Provider - or even Peoples Credit Union.
What Should You Do if You Think You've Been Phished
If you get an e-mail that warns you that an account of yours will be shut down unless you reconfirm your billing or email information, or that the bank/credit union is "missing" information about your account, do not reply or click on the link in the e-mail. Delete the email from your inbox and your deleted items. Report any suspicious activity to the company where you maintain your account immediately. If you have mistakenly responded to a phishing email pretending to be from Peoples Credit Union, you should notify your local branch immediately.
Recognizing Legitimate Requests from Peoples Credit Union
- It is not our policy to use "Pop-Up" windows to collect information about your accounts.
- It is our policy not to ask you to share personal information via email or telephone.
- It is not our policy to ask for your PIN, Login User ID, Password, Social Insurance Number, or other confidential information via email.
- Peoples Credit Union will not claim we are updating our files or accounts via email or phone, nor threaten that your account is in jeopardy if you do not update your account information immediately.
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