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Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
Identity theft is a growing problem. It involves someone acquiring pieces of your personal information such as name, address, date of birth, or social security number. With this information, an impersonator could take over your financial accounts and reap havoc with your credit rating. For extensive information, log onto
www.ftc,gov/idtheft.
At least once a year, check your credit files to be certain an impersonator has not illegally obtained credit in your name.
Individuals can obtain a copy of their credit files by calling the "Big 3" credit reporting bureaus:
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Trans Union |
Equifax |
Experian (CBA) |
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1-800-888-4213 |
1-800-685-1111 |
1-888-397-3742 |
Promptly remove mail from your mailbox.
NEVER give personal information over the telephone, such as your social security number, date of birth, mother's maiden name, credit card numbers, etc.
Sign all new credit cards upon receipt.
Report lost or stolen credit cards or checks immediately.
Empty your wallet of extra credit cards and IDs and cancel the ones you do not use. Keep a record of all card numbers and the contact numbers for each card.
You can "opt out" of junk mailings by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. This number notifies all major credit reporting agencies.
Stop the telemarketers from calling during dinner! Register on the national Do Not Call list. Go to www.donotcall.gov.
File a police report. The police may not take action, but the report can be used as ID Theft evidence.
Log into www.consumer.gov/idtheft/affidavit.htm. At this web site you will be able to downloand an FTC ID Theft Affidavit to be filled out and sent to the FTC and credit companies. It is accepted by a large number of credit issuers and major credit reporting agencies.
Contact Social Security at 1-800-269-0271.
Alert the "Big 3" credit reporting agencies (see above) and request a fraud alert/victim impact statement be included in your file.
Call the FTC identity Theft Hotline at 1-877-ID-THEFT.
If you suspect fraudulent phone charges were made as a result of identity theft, call 1-888-CAA-FCC or log onto www.fcc.gov.complaints.html.
Internet Fraud
1. Beware of Urgent E-mail Messages
Be suspicious of e-mails with urgent requests for personal and financial information. This is called "phishing," and is a ploy to obtain your personal data. You will be directed to a web site that looks legitimate, but is really a copy of the true site, set up to steal the information you provide.
Look for the following tell-tale signs of phishing schemes:
Most phishing attacks ask for unique pieces of information - user accounts, social security numbers, PIN numbers, credit card numbers, etc.
The general tone of phishing e-mails will be upsetting or exciting to the recipient attenpting to get them to react immediately.
While the message will bear the logo of the company, it will not include any phone numbers that you may recognize.
Heritage Valley FCU will notify you via phone or U.S. Mail, and not e-mail, in the event a situation occurs requiring your immediate attention. If you are unsure whether a message from Heritage Valley FCU, e-mail, telephone, or any type of message, is authentic, please call us to verify the validity of the contact. We don't want your infomation falling into the hands of unscrupulous people!
2. Do Not Respond to e-mail requests for online banking information
Delete similar messages immediately! This is an attempt to steal your financial account information. Heritage Valley FCU would never ask you to update information in this fashion. This also applies to NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) and CUNA (Credit Union National Association). Several members have received e-mails requesting information as their access to home banking is limited, blaming account access by an unauthorized third party. Do Not Respond.
3. Internet Shopping Cautions
Online shopping has become almost commonplace, and, for the most part, is very safe. However, as in everything, shoppers need to take certain precautions.
Only shop at sites that you trust - never from an unsolicited e-mail message (spam) that you received.
Make note of the company's contact information, including street and mailing address, and a telephone number. Do not rely only on an e-mail address
Look for the hidden costs - shipping, customs - that may increase your purchase price.
It is better to pay by credit card than debit card. It is easier to clear up problems from stolen credit card numbers than stolen debit card numbers.
Make sure that the web address of the page starts https:// before you enter any personal information or payment details. The 's' stands for 'secure'. There should also be a small padlock that appears in the bottom of your screen.
Always check your bank statements or credit card bills carefully if you purchase something on the Internet.
You should never be asked to tell anyone your card's PIN number - even if they claim to be from your bank or the police. Never send your PIN number to anyone over the Internet. You should be able to read the company's privacy policy.
Check the return policy and the delivery options. Both should be readily available to read on the site.
Keep your password(s) private. Be creative when you establish a password, and never give it to anyone. Avoid using a telephone number, birth date or a portion of your Social Security number. Instead, use a combination of numbers, letters and symbols.
Always print out a copy of your order and a copy of the acknowledgement that you should receive. The Mail and Telephone Order Merchandise Rule covers online orders. This means that unless the company states otherwise, your merchandise must be delivered within 30 days; and if there are delays, the company must notify you.
4. Phishing E-mail Spoofs Visa 
Several versions of a phishing e-mail have been received by credit union employees and members, attempting to lure them to a spoofed Visa Web site. The subject line of these messages reads: “Attention! Several VISA Credit Card bases have been LOST!” The bogus or phishing e-mail appears to come from (VisaServices@visa.com or Visa@visa.com or something similar) and it states something like this (including the typos):
Good afternoon, unfortunately some processings have been cracked by hackers, so a new secure code to protect your data has been introduced by Visa. You should check your card balance and in case of suspicious transactions immediately contact your card issuing bank. If all transactions are alright, it doesn't mean the card is not lost and cannot be used. Probably, your card issuers have not updated information yet. That is why we strongly recommend you to visit our web-site and update your profile otherwise we cannot guarantee stolen money repayment. Thank you for your attention. Click here and update your profile. This is a reminder to our members about this type of scam. Although the linked Web site appears to be legitimate, it is not. Visa will never contact you via e-mail requesting personal account information.
If you or someone you know receives an e-mail of this nature, it should be forwarded to phishing@visa.com. The Visa fraud team manages this mailbox and investigates the source of these bogus e-mail addresses so they can shut them down immediately.
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