NAFCU - National Association of Federal Credit Unions Email Scam - Phishing for Your Identity

Phishing and Vishing Identity Theft Scams
Scammers Using NAFCU - National Association of Federal Credit Unions
Redirects to spoofed (Fake) website: http://24.245.44.53/www.nafcu.org/index.html

You may have received an email like the one below that looks very authentic, like it came from NAFCU - National Association of Federal Credit Unions , or a phone call about the same subject. It is an attempt to get you to enter confidential information (typically a social security number, name, address, bank account information, etc., to allow the scammers to steal your identity and open credit cards in your name.

This email was not sent by NAFCU - National Association of Federal Credit Unions ; NAFCU - National Association of Federal Credit Unions is a victim as well. This is referred to as "phishing" (when by email) or "vishing" (when by telephone). If you receive an email similar to the one below, DO NOT click on the link, and do not enter any information on the forms there.

The website that the link leads to is a spoof; a fake website, not created by NAFCU - National Association of Federal Credit Unions . It goes to http://24.245.44.53/www.nafcu.org/index.html, not NAFCU - National Association of Federal Credit Unions ! When you enter the information they ask for, you will simply be handing the thieves the keys to your bank accounts.  That is how spoofing, phishing and vishing works.

Remember, no reputable business would send you an email or a phone call requesting your personal account information. Any such email you receive asking for this information should be considered phony and brought to the attention of the business being 'phished'.

Anytime you need to go to a website for your bank, credit card companies or other personal, financial or confidential information; do not follow a link in an email; just type their address in your browser directly (such as www.nafcu.org/ )

Below are actual phishing emails that started circulating in early 2008. We have put a warning over the links to the phisher's website.

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Dear NAFCU member,   As part of our security measures, we regularly screen activity in Federal Credit Unions (FCU) network. We recently noticed the following issue on your account: A recent review of your account determined that we require some additional information from you in order to provide you with secure service. For your protection, we have limited access to your account until additional security measures can be completed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please log in to your NAFCU account to restore your access as soon as possible. You must click the link below and fill in the form on the following page to complete the verification process. Click here to update your account In accordance with NAFCU User Agreement, your account access will remain limited until the issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, if access to your account remains limited for an extended period of time, it may result in further limitations or eventual account closure. We encourage you to log in to your NAFCU account as soon as possible to help avoid this. We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience. Sincerely, NAFCU Account Review Department Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.

About NAFCU   The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is a respected and influential trade association that exclusively represents the interests of federal credit unions before the federal government and the public. Membership in NAFCU is direct; there are no state or local leagues, chapters or affiliations standing between NAFCU members and the NAFCU headquarters in Arlington, VA. From 1967 until today, NAFCU has been a highly effective force in influencing legislation and regulation affecting federal credit unions. The first major victory for the association came in 1970, when the association realized one of its major goals: federal share insurance for federal credit unions (the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund). .

 

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For more information about phishing, see this page.