Credit Freeze Scam

Typical scheme: Fraudster pretends to be an ID theft victim and contacts one of the three major credit reporting agencies asking to put a temporary freeze on his credit report (which really belongs to someone else) in order to eliminate any negative information from the report. Once the fraudster gets a copy of the cleaned up credit report, he or she will use it to apply for loans at a variety of financial institutions, including credit unions. One surefire way to protect your members and your credit union from this type of fraud is to use your credit union marketing materials (e.g., newsletter, statement messages, website, etc.) to educate members about this type of scam and to be vigilant in making sure their own credit reports are checked at least once a year. They can do this annually, free of charge, by logging on to www.annualcreditreport.com or dialing 1-877-322-8228.

Source: Credit Union Journal, May 29, 2009

Telephone Wire Transfer Fraud

Typical Scheme: Fraudster gathers publicly available information on a consumer from courthouse records (e.g., mortgage loan information such as name and phone numbers) and attempts to issue a fraudulent telephone wire transfer request by using a call forwarding service.  And if the fraudster is able to provide an unsuspecting credit union with a reasonable faxed signature of the real member and is able to answer any credit union callback “challenge” questions, they’re able to commit this type of fraud.  The best defense here is to not accept wire transfer request by either phone or fax.  Consider implementing a policy of only accepting wire transfer request in person. 

Source: CUNA Mutual Fraud Alert, May 2009

Internet Crime Complaints Up 33%

WASHINGTON (4/1/09)--Complaints from victims of Internet crime rose 33% in the U.S. during 2008 from the year before, indicating that the economy's downturn is exacerbating electronic fraud, says the Internet Crime Complaint Center.  The Internet Crime Complaint Center tracks trends and refers cases to law enforcement agencies for investigation. It announced Monday it had processed a record 275,284 complaints last year, up from 207,000 in 2007.

The total dollar loss reported from scams was $265 million, nearly $25 million more than the $239 million lost to Internet fraud in 2007.  One-third of the complaints were over electronic correspondents failing to deliver promised goods or failing to pay for goods they received. Another 25% were fraud at auction sites such as Ebay and Craigslist.

Source:  CUNA News Now – April 1, 2009