Member Protection

AllCom Credit Union was recently made aware of a scam involving counterfeit checks that uses a variation of the Credit Union’s name, address and Routing & Transit number.

Here are the details you will need to know to protect yourself against this scam:

-       The Financial Institution name is listed as “Allom Credit Union” not “AllCom Credit Union”.

-       A fraudulent telephone number, 888-271-3652 is listed on the checks for verification instead of our actual telephone number.

-       Most checks are drawn on the account of “American Century Investments” located at 4917 Town Center Drive, Leawood, Kansas City, 66211 or "Putnam Investments" located at 175 City Center Drive, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, but could be drawn on another Investment company.

-       People have received these checks along with a letter from the investment company stating that they have won a minimum of $250,780 and that they should cash the enclosed check to pay for processing fees to a lottery agent.

-       The letter provides a Canadian telephone number of 1-647-839-6817 to call for further instruction and when called the person is provided with wiring instructions to send funds via Western Union to Canada.

-       Most checks are written for $7,380 but could be produced for any amount.

-       The check numbers are five digit numbers, starting with an “183XX”

-       The account number on the bottom of the check is 78604124.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THESE CHECKS ARE NOT ISSUED BY ALLCOM CREDIT UNION AND THIS IS A COUNTERFEIT CHECK SCHEME.

Click here to see a copy of the fraudulent check.
Click here to see a copy of the fraudulent lottery award letter.

If a member deposits these checks into their Bank or Credit Union account, the checks will be returned as counterfeit items. The payee will have a legal obligation to pay back any funds that were received from this fraudulent check. Please remember, if you receive correspondence from an unknown entity that sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

We have reported this fraud to the appropriate authorities and are continuing to monitor the situation very carefully. If you are impacted by this scheme, please notify us immediately at 508-754-9980. You can also report this fraud to the authorities listed below:

Local Police Department

Massachusetts Attorney General’s office

Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/crossborder

Postal Service Inspections Office: www.usps.com/postalinspectors

US Secret Service: http://www.secretservice.gov/contact.shtml

Canadian Anti-Fraud Organization: www.phonebusters.com

Internet Fraud Complaint Center: http://www.internetfraud.usdoj.gov/

Internet Crime Complaint Center: www.ic3.gov

International Consumer Protection and Enforcement: www.econsumer.gov

Western Union: www.westernunion.com/info/faqSecurity.asp

SECURITY WARNING
E-MAIL PHISHING SCAM

AllCom Credit Union was recently made aware that there was an E-mail fraud attempt, known as "Phishing" that was initiated via E-mail, sent to both the general public and to credit union members that appeared to be from AllCom Credit Union. This false E-mail asked for the recipient to click on a link to confirm their E-mail address and contact information.

Phishing is the practice of sending an E-mail that appears to be from a Financial Institution with the goal of persuading online banking users to share sensitive information that can be used to commit fraud or identity theft.

The criminals that send out these types of E-mails usually try to copy the Financial Institution's logo and imitate the "look and feel" of the Institution's messages to try and persuade other online banking users that the E-mail was genuine. AllCom will NEVER send these types of messages.

If you responded to the message by sharing your personal financial information, please contact us immediately. We will give you instructions for changing your password and taking other steps to protect your accounts.

Always remember that we will NEVER ask you to click on an E-mail link to share sensitive financial information. Please notify us whenever you receive a suspicious E-mail or have any other form of unsolicited contact from individuals seeking personal information about your accounts.

If you feel that you have received a fraudulent phishing E-mail purportedly from AllCom Credit Union, please forward the entire E-mail message to memberservices@allcomcu.org. Additionally, you can file formal complaints concerning any suspected fraudulent E-mail with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) at ncua@ic3.gov. The IFCC is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National White Collar Crime Center.

To learn more about Phishing and Identity Theft, please visit the following websites:

www.antiphishing.org

www.consumer.gov/idtheft

www.onguardonline.gov

Vishing: Voice Phishing - the newest scam

Fraudsters are now using a combination of spam E-mails and fraudulent telephone numbers in order to obtain consumers personal information.

Identity thieves are sending spam E-mails warning victims that their Credit Union/Bank/Pay Pal/Ebay Accounts were supposedly compromised. Instead of a phony website address, consumers are directed to a fraudulent telephone number to "verify account information." The automated message states: "Welcome to account verification. Please type your 16 digit card number."

In other instances, vishing begins with a telephone call out of the blue where the caller has already fraudulently obtained the consumers card number and uses this to increase the consumer's perceptions of legitimacy. Once trust is gained, the caller than asks for the expiration date or the security code on the back of the card.

ALWAYS REMEMBER:

We will never ask you to click on an E-mail link to share sensitive financial information

Never call a telephone number you receive from a spam E-mail

Do not provide anyone with your sensitive financial or personal information over the telephone or on the internet

If you believe that any contact is legitimate, contact us at the telephone number you know to be true (from prior contact, your mailed statement, from the phone book, or through 411)

If you feel that you have received ANY type of phishing or vishing attempts, please contact the Credit Union as soon as possible at (508) 754-9980.