FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – One or more identity thieves stole $665,000 from a Woodstone CU member’s account last week through a sophisticated telephone scheme that allowed them to tap into the member’s home equity line of credit.
The member first learned the money had disappeared from his account Friday, when a credit union representative called to say $450,000 had been transferred from his and his wife’s home equity credit line. A credit union representative called a short while later to say another $215,000 had been transferred.
The victim, a 66-year-old man, told authorities the money had been transferred to a New York bank, then out of the country.
Investigators said the thief copied the member’s signature, then tapped his phone line to intercept the credit union’s call when the representative phoned to verify that the transfer was authorized.
Credit union officials have pledged to cover the member’s losses.
Similar scams have targeted credit unions, according to the CU Information Security Professionals Association, which has circulated a warning to credit unions.
The scammers apparently make the wire requests by phone with extensive personal information for verification purposes, including all necessary authentication information, most recent transactions, family member names, account information and address. Then, they request phone line forwarding from the phone companies to circumvent “call-back” procedures. Average attempts on the transfers range between $70,000 and $100,000.
