Telephone Scam Hits Philadelphia Area

Do not reply to an automated telephone message that states it was sent by the credit union’s Fraud & Security Department and that your credit card account has been suspended. The message continues leaving instructions to dial variations of the exchange beginning as 515-414-xxxx with the last four numbers constantly changing. Once this number is reached, an automated voice asks for your 16 digit credit card number and then your PIN number.

Individuals who have replied and disclosed this information have reported immediate fraudulent transaction activity in Spain and Romania. The monetary loss is significant.

IRS Reports Economic Stimulus Scams

As the economic stimulus checks start going out, the IRS has issued an alert that scam artists are actively making the rounds using the proposed rebates as bait. The most recent scams include:

Rebate Phone Call

Someone identifying himself as an IRS employee calls consumers and asks for bank account information for the direct deposit of the rebate. If the individual refuses, he is told that he cannot receive the rebate. 

Refund e-mail

The bogus e-mail falsely claims to come from the IRS, tells the recipient that he or she is eligible for a tax refund for a specific amount, and instructs the recipient to click on a link in the e-mail to access a refund claim form. The form asks the recipient to enter personal information that the scamsters can then access.

Audit e-mail

This technique will get almost anyone’s attention. This phony e-mail notifies the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited. The IRS does not send unsolicited, tax-account related e-mails to taxpayers.

Paper Check Phone Call

In a current telephone scam, a caller claims to be an IRS employee who is calling because the IRS sent a check to the individual, and since the check has not been cashed, the IRS wants to verify the individual’s bank account number. The caller may have a foreign accent.

Changes to Tax Law e-Mail

This bogus e-mail is addressed to businesses, accountants, and “Treasury” managers. It instructs them to download information on tax law changes by clicking on a series of links to publications on businesses, estate taxes, excise taxes, exempt organizations, and IRAs and other retirement plans.

Individuals who receive a questionable e-mail claiming to come from the IRS should forward it to phishing@irs.gov. Use instructions contained in an article, “How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes,” to help the IRS track the suspicious e-mail to its origins and shut down the scam.

Those who have received a questionable telephone call that claims to come from the IRS may also use the phishing@irs.gov mailbox to notify the IRS of the scam.  

'NCUA' Phishing Email

This scam is a ploy to get your personal information. Do NOT call the number below!

'CUNA' Phishing Emails

If you have received either of the following emails, or something similar, do NOT call the number mentioned. The call is a ploy to get personal account information, possibly for identity theft purposes.

CUNA would never contact a member directly.
Always be suspicious when you receive 'notifications' by email appearing to be from financial institutions. Chances are, it's fraudulent!

Members, be aware of the following PHONE SCAM:

If you receive a phone call from a person claiming to be from LANCO who asks you to read numbers listed at the bottom of your checks, don’t give them any information— It’s a scam!

LANCO DOES NOT CALL MEMBERS TO ASK FOR THEIR ROUTING NUMBERS!

Individuals who obtain your information could be using it to produce counterfeit checks!
If you receive any suspicious phone call asking for your information, hang up and call LANCO.

Counterfeit Check Scams

Have you been...

• Contacted to cash a check that has been mailed to you with instructions to wire a portion back to the sender?
• Notified that you've won a foreign lottery?
• Notified that your help is needed to claim an inheritance?

Don't be fooled; It's a SCAM!

Checks, Money Orders or Travelers Checks received from individuals claiming to pay you a fee or comission for helping them are COUNTERFEIT.

DO NOT DEPOSIT THESE CHECKS.

Please remember that you will be responsible for the return of funds on counterfeit checks.

Card scam is 'fiendishly clever'

NEW YORK (3/29/07)--A slick card scam that has made the rounds for several years seems to be resurfacing. It's slick because the caller provides information he already has about you and asks you to "verify" the information. Then he goes one step further and asks for the three-digit code on the back of your credit card.

It works like this: A caller claims to work for the fraud department at Visa or MasterCard and provides a badge number. The fraudster then asks if you recently purchased an anti-telemarketing device for nearly $500. You say "no." He tells you the fraud department has been watching that company.

He also offers to block the charge and asks to verify your name, address, credit card number and expiration date, then asks for the three digit code on the back of the credit card.

Don't give it out, nor should you confirm any other information the caller claims to already have. Many Internet retailers require the code as a security measure. But the crooks already may have stolen your credit card information from another source, such as a receipt or statement. They can't use your card until they get the three-digit code to complete their fraudulent transaction.

If you receive a similar phone call, hang up in the middle of the call, say industry experts. This scam has been going on since MasterCard began putting CVC2 security codes on the back of its card in 1997.

A credit card company does not ask a cardholder to disclose security codes or provide any information verifying a physical possession of a card. Any such inquiries regarding security matters would come from the financial institution that issued the credit card, not from the card company (www.snopes.com).

Please note that LANCO Federal Credit Union would never make a phone call to a member to verify their credit card information.