Ohio Credit Union Consumers Alerted of a Phishing Fraud

A large number of Ohioans have been receiving e-mails telling them that services from the Ohio Credit Union were withdrawn, followed by a telephone number to contact.

The Ohio Credit Union League is entreating people receiving these e-mails to not communicate at the given number, as it is a phishing fraud. Instead, the League is asking recipients to call their financial agency directly and report the messages so that authorities could be alerted as well as their accounts be kept on hold, if necessary, as reported by nbc4i on August 21, 2008.

The Credit Union League said that five distinct phishing scams that posed association with credit unions were noticed during August 19-20, 2008.

Harry Trombitas, Special Agent of the FBI, said that customers receiving these e-mails should report them directly to the FBI for investigation, as reported by nbc4i on August 21, 2008.

Besides, Trombitas added that anyone who might have divulged personal data to the scammers should immediately visit the FTC's Website and follow the steps given in it so that losses could be minimized and their credit could be protected.

Furthermore, while the attacks originally targeted at the residents of Central Ohio, other consumers across the state also started receiving the messages. All Ohioans need to be cautious in case the areas of attack expand. Also, consumers need to know in what manner their financial agency would contact them in case account irregularities take place.

According to Katie Walton, Director of MemberCcommunication for the Ohio Credit Union League, she has information that other states are being hit by the scam. Users must be paranoid these days as there is an increasing number of scam artists prowling the net, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch on August 20, 2008.

And while the League tries to foil the phishers' attack, it is asking other member credit groups to directly communicate with their customers and post alerts on their sites. In addition, the League has contacted the FBI, the Office of Ohio Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communication Commission to report about the scam and to appeal them to block the phone numbers.

Related article: Ohio Residents’ Stolen Information at Low Risk of ID Fraud

» SPAMfighter News - 8/29/2008