May 23, 2022
Please be aware of phishing scams aimed at obtaining your online and mobile banking login information. Fraudsters have developed sophisticated ways of tricking members into providing their sensitive personal information -- including login information for online banking accounts.
One example of a phishing sceme that fraudsters have been utilizing lately involves sending a text message to an individual asking them to verify a transaction that the fraudster set up. When the individual responds that no, they did not authorize the transaction, they receive a follow-up text informing them that a fraud department representative would be calling them.
The fraudsters then spoof the financial institution's phone number to contact the individual. The "fraud expert" on the line then informs them of additional made up transactions, which the member confirms they did not make. At that point, the fraudsters either:
1) Tell the member their online banking has been compromised; they would send a password reset request and tell the member the password they wanted them to use as well as obtain account security information. The members would be informed that they would be unable to use online banking for 24 to 48 hours, during which time the fraudster would set up person-to-person and account-to-account transfers to siphon money from the account.
2) Ask the member to verify the last 8 to 10 digits of their debit card number, then proceed to make fraudulent transactions using that account.
As a reminder LUSO Federal Credit Union fraud services will never ask members for online/mobile banking passwords; this information is considered personal and should not be given out to anybody. If you receive any suspicious requests for ibanking information or feel you are the victim of fraud, please contact the credit union directly at (413) 589-9966 or email us.
To learn more about text message fraud, click here.