ATFCU Warns Against New "Vishing" Attack

Reported August 13, 2008

We have been contacted by several members and non-members concerning phone calls that were received on Wednesday, August 13, claiming to be from a local Credit Union. These calls state that the person’s account / credit card had been suspended and instructs the person to call a phone number to have the access restored. THIS IS A SCAM!

If you receive such a phone call, do not respond to the phone number you are being asked to call.

Smishing, phishing (email-based) and vishing (voice mail-based), are all scams designed to obtain your personal information. Identity thieves can then use this information to open credit accounts in your name and make purchases. They get the goodies, you get stuck with the bill!!

ATFCU's Records Have NOT Been Breached

It is VERY IMPORTANT to note that these attacks are NOT the result of your information being obtained or stolen from ATFCU. Our records have NOT been breached, hacked or stolen. REMEMBER: Receiving a smishing, phishing or vishing scam does not mean a crook HAS your information. It means they WANT your information.

If you ever receive such a message claiming to be from ATFCU, call us at 800-404-6008 or 865-977-3118.

What To Do If You Have Been Phished/Vished

If you have responded to a text message, email or voice message that you believe was a smishing, phishing or vishing scam, notify us immediately. In addition, you may want to do the following:

Visit our Identity Theft Coach and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website and for more information on Identity Theft and how to protect yourself.

These resources can provide you with step-by-step assistance in handling identity theft as the following:

• Contact one of the three major credit bureaus and request that the credit bureaus place a "fraud alert" and a "victim's statement" in your credit file. (The credit bureaus will notify the other two bureaus of the Fraud Alert.) The following are the phone numbers of the three national credit bureaus:
  Equifax 800.525.6285;
  Experian 888.397.3742; and,
  Trans Union 800.680.7289.
  
• Request from the credit bureaus a free credit report. Credit bureaus must provide a free credit report if you believe the report is inaccurate due to fraud;
  
• Review the credit reports in detail to determine if any fraudulent accounts have been established. Determine if any unknown inquiries have been made. Unknown inquiries may be indicators of someone attempting to establish a fraudulent account;
  
• Contact all financial institutions and creditors where you have accounts. Request that they restrict access to the account, change any password or close the account altogether, if there is evidence that the account has been the target of identity theft;
  
• File a police report to document the crime; and, Contact the Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Hotline at 877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338). The FTC puts the information into a secure consumer fraud database and shares it with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.