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Recently, members of another Credit Union received phony text messages claiming to be from their credit union.
According to the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association, credit unions throughout the state have again reported
that members are getting text messages to call a number and release their account information. Remember, the
credit union will not call, e-mail or text members for account information or PINs.
If you receive a text message about accounts, or any type of private or personal information,
always verify that it is legitimate by calling a trusted number. If you have questions, call us at
610-868-8211.
Do not trust that text message!
New Smishing attack: Cell phone text messaging tries to persuade you to call an 800 number
and reveal your credit card number, expiration and pin.
"Smishing" is derived from the familiar "phishing." The "sm" comes from SMS, the protocol used to
transmit text messages via cellular devices.
In a recent a Smishing scam, cell phone users received a text that tells them their credit or
debit card from their credit union has been deactivated.
It then directs them to call an 866 number to reactivate the card. If the number is dialed, the
caller will receive an automated service claiming to be the credit union card reactivation center.
It will then request the card number, then the expiration and then, the pin number.
This information is then used to create duplicate credit/debit/ATM cards. There are documented
cases where information was used to create a credit or debit card that was used halfway around
the world, within 30 minutes.
In many cases, the smishing message will show that it came from "5000" or "5800" instead of
displaying an actual phone number. This usually indicates the SMS message was sent via email
to the cell phone, and not sent from another cell phone.
Beware of smishing and any other type of request for your personal information. If you think
that a request may be legitimate, verify it by using a separate, trusted phone number.
Things to remember about SMISHING:
- Never include personal or sensitive information in a text or e-mail message.
- If you need to telephone your bank or credit union, always use a phone number you obtained
from a known source, such as your monthly statement, the official web site, or the phone book.
Never use a phone number from an unsolicited e-mail or text message.
- If you receive a message like the one mentioned above, do not reply by texting or calling
the phone number listed. You may contact us, and e-mail or forward any suspicious messages you
receive to info@hsjfcu.org.
Or you can call us at 610-868-8211.
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