Phishers hit Oregon league, CUs in three states

MADISON, Wis. (6/1/05)--The Credit Union Association of Oregon (CUAO) and credit unions in Louisiana, Wisconsin and Delaware were phishing targets the past week.

CUAO learned Tuesday morning that it was the latest target in criminals' ongoing attempts to garner account information from unsuspecting individuals. An e-mail using the CUAO domain name and requesting updated account information was sent to individuals. It said there a "slight error" detected in the recipient's billing information and asked the recipient to use a link to correct the information.

"True to form with this type of identity fraud attempt, the e-mail contains misspelled words and indicates that unless the recipient updates the account information right away, credit card use will be restricted," said CUAO. "CUAO does not handle personal member information in this manner, nor do we issue credit cards or administer transactional accounts."

The Louisiana Credit Union League, in a fraud alert Friday, said the University of Louisiana FCU (UL FCU), Lafayette, La., was hit by a phishing scam Thursday. The $25.5 million asset credit union is the second credit union in the state to report a phishing attack in less than a week, the league said. UNO FCU, an $18.7 million asset credit union in New Orleans, was the subject of a phish attack the week before.

The UL FCU phish was an e-mail sent to UL FCU members and University of Louisiana computer users. It reported that "different computers have tried to login into your bank account, and multiple password failures were present," and asked members to visit a link to "confirm your account to us and secure it with a new password." If the recipient did not do so by June 10, the e-mail threatened to suspend the account indefinitely.

The Delaware Credit Union League also reported that in the past week, several credit unions have reported multiple e-mail fraud attempts to credit union members. In two of the cases, the e-mails appeared to be from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). CUNA and NCUA have fraud alerts posted on their websites.

And the UW CU, Madison, Wis., told Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times (May 26) it was a phish target, with criminals sending e-mails out with the credit union's logo urging members to "verify personal information" by providing confidential details. Mary Hanneman, director of marketing for the $731 million asset credit union, stressed that no financial institution would ask for a customer's personal information by e-mail.

The leagues, CUNA and NCUA all have stressed that credit unions should warn their members about such attempts. "Identity theft and phishing scams are becoming increasingly more prevalent these days, and credit unions are in a unique position to fight these scams," said the CUAO. "Credit unions know their members, and members trust their credit unions." It urged taking a proactive approach. CUAO staff have presented information at credit union annual meetings to help members minimize the risk of identity theft.

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CUNA resources on Identity theft
Resources to fight phishing fraud


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