Phishing Scams

We have received another report from a Commonwealth Credit Union member about a "phishing" scam making the e-mail rounds.

Phishing is a type of scam in which official-looking emails are sent from those pretending to be legitimate financial institutions - in an attempt to trick you into providing your financial information.

How Phishing Works

Phishers send an email or pop-up message that claims to be from a business or organization that the consumer commonly deals with - such as, an Internet service provider (ISP), financial institution, online payment service, or even a government agency.

The message usually states that the consumer needs to "update" or "validate" their account information. It may also threaten some dire consequence if the consumer does not respond. Furthermore, the message often directs the reader to a web site that looks like a legitimate organization's site, but isn't.

According to Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo, "Scammers 'phish' for personal information in a variety of ways, but most commonly use emails claiming to be from a bank or another institution that already has the consumer's personal information. Once these 'phishers' have obtained the information, they use it in a number of ways including making unauthorized purchases, gathering information for identity theft, or simply to clean out the consumer's bank account."

Important Warning

No legitimate financial institution will EVER contact you to provide your personal financial information to verify your accounts. Commonwealth Credit Union already has your Social Security Number and/or Account Number on file, and we will NEVER ask you to provide us with your ATM or Global Card PIN, credit card number, or Home Banking password to verify your account - especially via email or our web site.

An Example Of A "Phishing" Scam

What does a "phishing" scam look like? One popular method is for the crooks to copy a legitimate financial institution web page, then change just a few items and have that web page actually link to the scammer's host computer network. One popular scam making the rounds right now uses a legitimate US Bank page as its basis. Note the similarities:

"The Fake Page"

"The Real Page"

Notice that the "phishing" scammers have copied the original US Bank page and changed just a few items. The Commonwealth Credit Union member who received this "phishing" scam is not even a US Bank customer. If you ever receive any type of solicitation that asks you to provide your credit card number, always use caution, especially if you did not initiate the contact with that particular company. For questions about any questionable or possible "phishing" emails you might receive, please contact Commonwealth Credit Union at 800.228.6420 or 502.564.4775.