Identity theft is not new, but the cost to consumers has risen since criminals have gone online. Criminals who want to gain access to your online accounts use phishing, hoaxes, or other scams to obtain personal information such as your name, social security number, account name, or password.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal your valuable personal data such as credit card numbers, account data and passwords. Phishing is also known as identity theft. Messages are typically sent to members via email, and appear to be from Heritage Credit Union, but are NOT. The messages may warn that your account is locked, or that services will be cancelled or interrupted without your response. The message urges you to log in to a bogus Web site that is almost certainly designed to record your personal login information. Do NOT click on the link in the email.

You might see a phishing scam:

• In email messages, even if they appear to be from a friend, co-worker or known business
• on social networking sites (Facebook, etc.)
• on websites that spoof familiar sites but use slightly different web addresses
• on your cell phone or other mobile device

What is Vishing?

Vishing is like phishing except it is phone or voice based, i.e. over the phone, not via email or the Internet. Would-be victims are called on the phone and asked to key in their credit or ATM card information. Text message scams are also on the rise. Members may receive a text message on their phone directing them to call a certain phone number. Heritage Credit Union would NOT send a message like this, and members should not call the phone number. Please remember the following if you experience vishing or phishing:

• Heritage CU did NOT initiate the call.
• HCU would never ask for such information over the phone or in an email.
• The scam is calling thousands of random people, claiming a CU name, hoping someone will key in a card number.
• If a call-back number is provided, report it to abuse@heritagecu.org
• If you are a victim of this scam and did key in your card information, call your local branch immediately.

What is a Trojan?

A Trojan refers to a program that appears as something you may think is safe, but hidden inside is usually something harmful, probably a worm or a virus. The lure of Trojans is that you may download a game or a picture, thinking it's harmless, but once you execute this file (run it), the worm or virus gets to work. Sometimes they will only do things to annoy you, but usually a worm or virus will cause damage to your system or can be used to collect data when you enter your homebanking site.

Six Signs of a Scam

• Generic greetings such as "Dear Customer," which indicate that the sender does not know you and should not be trusted.
• Alarming or urgent statements that require you to respond immediately.
• Requests for personal or financial information, such as user names, passwords, credit card or bank account numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, or other information that can be used to steal your identity.
• Misspellings and grammatical errors, including Web addresses. The Web address might look very similar to the address of a legitimate business, but with a minor alteration. For example, instead of www.heritagecu.org, the scammer might use www.hertagecu.org.
• The text of the link in the e-mail message to you is different from the Web address that you are directed to when you click the link. You can identify the actual Web address in a link by hovering over the link without clicking it. The Web address appears in a text box above the link.
• The "From" line in the original e-mail message to you shows a different Web address than the one that appears when you try to reply to the message.

How to Keep Yourself Safe

 

If you receive a suspicious link	Don't click the link. Use your "Favorites" or Bookmarked pages to navigate. Type the web address directly into the web browser.
If you receive a suspicious phone call or text message	Do not respond. Report the phone call to your financial institution. Do not give out any personal information.
If you suspect you may have a Trojan, or to help prevent Trojans and other identity-stealing viruses	Use your computer's anti-virus and anti-spyware software to keep your computer up to date. New viruses and trojans appear all the time, so it's important that your system has anti-virus software installed.

Other tips:

• Delete spam. Do not open it or reply to it, even to ask to be removed from a mailing list. When you reply, you confirm to the senders that they have reached an active e-mail account and make yourself vulnerable to further abuse.
• Use caution when you click links in e-mail messages, text messages, pop-up windows, or instant messages. Instead, type Web addresses in a Web browser, or use your online Favorites or bookmarks.
• Do not open e-mail attachments or click instant message download links unless you know who sent the message and you were expecting the attachment or link.
• Be cautious about providing your personal or financial information online. Do not fill out forms in e-mail messages that ask for personal or financial information.
• Create strong passwords and avoid using the same password for your bank and other important accounts.
• Keep your computer up to date. If you have a Microsoft PC, makes sure to install the latest security updates and turn on automatic updating.
• Make sure your computer's firewall is turned on and that you use anti-virus and anti-spyware software that is updated automatically.
• Check your bank and credit card statements closely to identify and report any transactions that are not legitimate.
• Never pay bills, bank, shop, or conduct other financial transactions on a public or shared computer or over a public wireless network. If you do log on to public computers, look for computers on networks that require a password, which increases security.

Contact Information

Heritage Credit Union DOES NOT solicit its' members for personal and confidential information via email, text messages, or telephone inquiries.

If you receive a suspicious email, phone call or text message that appears to be from Heritage, please forward the message, together with complete header information, to abuse@heritagecu.org. If you believe you may have responded to such a fraudulent solicitation and may have supplied personal information such as account numbers, passwords or debit/credit card information, contact us at one of the numbers below:

Heritage fraud department: 1-888-432-8496

Lost or stolen CREDIT cards: 1-877-881-6018

Lost or stolen DEBIT cards: 1-866-546-8273