Virginia CU Latest to Be Targeted By Scammers

RICHMOND, Va.–A scam e-mail purportedly from Virginia Credit Union on Friday landed in the Inbox of an unlikely recipient–a Credit Union Journal reporter who lives 3,000 miles away. The e-mail is addressed to “Dear Customer”–certainly a dead giveaway it is not from a CU–and claims a message is waiting from “Customer Service” at Virginia Credit Union. Mark Hubbard, VACU’s public relations officer, told the CUJ the credit union experienced a “spike” in phishing attempts directed at its members in early June, which led to increased security. VACU updated its website with information on phishing and identity theft and established an e-mail address for members to send suspicious messages (reportabuse@vacu.org). Hubbard said all forwarded e-mails are reviewed by VACU's technology and security personnel, and it works with authorities to shut down any websites people are directed to as quickly as possible. “The best defense is to constantly remind people not to give out any account information to any person who calls or sends an e-mail.” The scammers, he explained “will send a message to anyone. They’d like the recipient to be a member, as that adds legitimacy to the message, but all they are looking for is account numbers and don’t care how they get them.”