What is Identity Theft?

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your name, address, Social Security number (SSN), bank or credit card account number, or other identifying information without your knowledge to commit fraud or other crimes.

How Does it Occur?

Identity thieves may use a variety of low- and high-tech methods to gain access to your personally identifying information. For example:

• They get information from businesses by stealing records or hacking into the organization's computers.
• They rummage through your trash, the trash of businesses, or dumps in a practice known as "dumpster diving."
• They steal credit and debit card account numbers as your card is processed by using a special information storage device in a practice known as "skimming."
• They steal wallets and purses containing identification and credit and bank cards.
• They steal mail, including bank and credit card statements, pre-approved credit offers, new checks, or tax information.
• They complete a "change of address form" to divert mail to another location.
• They steal personal information from your home.
• They scam information from you, often through email, by posing as a legitimate business person or government official.

[ back to top ]

Ways to Prevent Identity Theft:

Although no one is completely immune, you can take action to avoid having your identity stolen. The following are a few suggestions on how to best protect your name and your good credit.

• Carefully guard your personal information and be selective about with whom you share it. Personal information includes such things as your name, address, phone number, driver's license number, social security number, credit card numbers, birth date, and mother's maiden name.
• Carry as few credit cards and forms of ID as possible. Typically, there's no reason to carry your social security card in your wallet.
• Keep a list or photocopies of all information you carry in your wallet or purse. Store this information in a secure location.
• Shred documents that contain your personal information and account numbers before you throw them away. This includes unsolicited credit card applications.
• Don't print your driver's license or social security number on your checks.
• Examine your credit report from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies at least once a year.
• Never give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you've initiated the contact or are sure you know who you're dealing with.
• Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having service work done in your home.
• Deposit outgoing mail in post office collection boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you're planning to be away from home and can't pick up your mail, call the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive it.
• Place passwords on your credit card, credit union and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. When opening new accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line on their applications for your mother's maiden name. Use a password instead.
• Pay attention to your billing cycles. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks.
• Be wary of promotional scams. Identity thieves may use phony offers to get you to give them your personal information.
• When ordering new checks, pick them up at the credit union, rather than having them sent to your home mailbox.

[ back to top ]

What to do if You Are a Victim of Identity Theft

If you suspect that your personal information has been used to commit fraud or theft, take the following steps right away:

• Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus below and tell them you have been a victim or identity theft. Ask them to place a “fraud alert” in your file, as well as a “victim statement”.
  • Equifax – 1-800-525-6285
  • Experian – 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
  • TransUnion – 1-800-680-7289
• Contact Northwest Resource, any other financial institutions you use, and your creditors to protect your accounts and close them if necessary. You may want to report stolen checks to the following agencies:
  • National Scan Check Fraud Service: 1-843-571-2143
  • SCAN: 800-710-262-7771
  • TeleCheck: 800-710-9898
  • CrossCheck: 707-685-0551
  • Equifax Check Systems: 800-437-5120
  • International Check Services: 800-526-5380
  • ChexSystems: 800-428-9623
  • CheckRite: 800-766-2748
  • Privacy Council: 202-829-3660
• File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place. Keep a copy of the report because you may need it to validate your claims to creditors.
• File a complaint with the FTC online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4388).
• Report stolen mail to your local postal inspector at 503-279-2060.
• Report your incident to the Social Security Fraud Hotline at 800-269-0271.

[ back to top ]

Fraud Alerts

VISA Phone Scams

Thieves may attempt to trick you into releasing sensitive information via phone. The scammer may speak quickly or attempt to confuse you. It is important to remember that businesses will never request information that they should already have, and that personal information should never be provided by phone or email.

Often phone scammers will pose as a VISA security representative, calling to verify unusual charges. The scammer will request that you provide card information, including the card number, expiration date, and security code for verification.

Our VISA fraud department may call to verify recent purchases but will never ask for any card information as they already have it. If you are concerned that you are not speaking with an actual VISA representative, hang up and call us at 503-220-2592.

Scammers may also pose as VISA representatives soliciting card holders because they have won a reward or prize. The caller will request card information for verification. VISA and NRFCU do not solocit cardholders.

Fraudulent inheritance scheme Email claims to be from United States Department of State

(12/14/07) Criminals have added posing as the United States Department of State to their array of frauds. Fraudulent emails are being distributed claiming to have verified an inheritance from another country belonging to the victim. To make these emails appear legitimate, they contain information taken from the Department of State's website.

The email contains a lengthy explanation of how the Department of State has verified that there is nothing fraudulent about the inheritance and names numerous international organization which are involved in monitoring the transaction to prevent fraud. After using false assurances to gain a victim's confidence that this fraud scheme is actually a legitimate inheritance, the criminals send a request for a payment which the criminals claim is required due to a discrepancy in the currency conversion or for taxes. This email purports to be from a foreign governmental agency. The criminals go so far as to follow up by advising the victim not to contact law enforcement or governmental authorities but to continue to communicate with the criminals' email accounts.

THIS EMAIL IS A FRAUD.

Be cautious when responding to requests or special offers delivered through unsolicited email:

• The Department of State does not make unsolicited contact with individuals regarding matters such as inheritances.
• The email addresses used in these frauds are spoofed versions of a Department of State email address.
• Cyber criminals will use the names of various government agencies or companies in their emails to attempt to secure new victims using the same scheme.
• Cyber criminals use the name of a government agency or law firm or use the identity of a government official, business person or reputable attorney to add an air of legitimacy to a scam.
• Cyber criminals claim that government agencies such as the FBI or the IRS will prosecute or investigate people who do not participate in their scheme as a form of intimidation.
• Please review the tips and public service announcements regarding other fraud schemes on www.ic3.gov, www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com, and www.fbi.gov to help you avoid becoming a victim.
  

Email scam posing as CUNA

(11/5/07) CUNA (The Credit Union National Association) is aware of new phishing e-mails that are circulating. These e-mails request consumers to call a phone number or click a link due to a compromise of a credit card account. You should not respond to this message. CUNA is the trade association for credit unions in the US. CUNA does not maintain any type of customer/member financial information. Additionally, your financial institution would never request personal identification information over the phone via an e-mail solicitation. If you did respond to this e-mail, you should contact your financial institution directly using the local phone number provided by your financial institution.

Telephone Scam Posing as First Tech Credit Union

(8/20/07) First Tech has recently learned that fraudulent phone calls and subsequent voicemails are being placed to random phone numbers surrounding First Tech branches in the hopes of reaching First Tech members. The voicemail asks the recipient to dial an 800 number and enter their 16-digit card number. The phone calls indicate that the caller is from First Tech Credit Union, but these phone calls are fraudulent. The targeted phone numbers appear to have been randomly chosen and are not the result of a compromise of member data.

Fake Email Posing as a Credit Union

(9/25/06) Central Willamette Community Credit Union is the victim of several phishing scams. In the last week there have been three phishing emails and/or websites purporting to be from Central Willamette Community Credit Union.

The latest scam is asking people to click on a link to complete a quality service survey. The email states in part: “your patience will be rewarded with $20 direct deposit to your account and your name will automatically be entered into our quarterly drawing for a $1500 grand prize.”

There are several of these types of scams in circulation. As a reminder, to protect against these scams never respond to unsolicited requests for your personal information. If you have any doubts about an email you have received, contact the business via the regular channels that you have used previously.

Northwest Resource will never ask for personal information in an unsolicited email.

NCUA Email Fraud

Recently, there have been multiple e-mail fraud attempts, known as "Phishing”, that were initiated via e-mail sent to both the general public and to some credit union members that appeared to be from NCUA. This false e-mail asked for the recipient to click on a link to verify their credit union account registration. If the recipient proceeded to do so, the link directed them to a false website and asked for their credit union account number and PIN, along with other personal information.

NCUA does not ask credit unions members for such personal information. Anyone who receives an e-mail that purports to be from NCUA and asks for account information should consider it to be a fraudulent attempt to obtain their personal account data for an illegal purpose and should not follow the instructions in the e-mail.

If you responded to such an e-mail and provided any confidential account information, please notify your credit union immediately of the scheme. You should also change your account’s PIN, and take any additional action recommended by your credit union to protect your account.

If you feel that you have received a fraudulent phishing e-mail purportedly from NCUA please forward the entire e-mail message to Phishing@ncua.gov

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.

Fake Check Scams

Fake check scams are clever ploys to steal your money. You can avoid becoming a victim by recognizing how the scam works and understanding your responsibility for the checks that you deposit in your account. Click here to learn more.

International Lottery Scams

"Congratulations!
You may receive a certified check for up to $400,000 U.S. CASH!
One Lump sum! Tax free! Your odds to WIN are 1-6."

"Hundreds of U.S. citizens win every week using our secret system!
You can win as much as you want!"

Sound great? It's a fraud.

Scam operators — often based in Canada — are using the telephone and direct mail to entice U.S. consumers to buy chances in high-stakes foreign lotteries from as far away as Australia and Europe. These lottery solicitations violate U.S. law, which prohibits the cross-border sale or purchase of lottery tickets by phone or mail.

Still, federal law enforcement authorities are intercepting and destroying millions of foreign lottery mailings sent or delivered by the truckload into the U.S. And consumers, lured by prospects of instant wealth, are responding to the solicitations that do get through-to the tune of $120 million a year, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

The Federal Trade Commission says most promotions for foreign lotteries are likely to be phony. Many scam operators don't even buy the promised lottery tickets. Others buy some tickets, but keep the "winnings" for themselves. In addition, lottery hustlers use victims' bank account numbers to make unauthorized withdrawals or their credit card numbers to run up additional charges.

The FTC has these words of caution for consumers who are thinking about responding to a foreign lottery:

• If you play a foreign lottery-through the mail or over the telephone-you're violating federal law.
• There are no secret systems for winning foreign lotteries. Your chances of winning more than the cost of your tickets are slim to none.
• If you purchase one foreign lottery ticket, expect many more bogus offers for lottery or investment "opportunities." Your name will be placed on "sucker lists" that fraudulent telemarketers buy and sell.
• Keep your credit card and bank account numbers to yourself. Scam artists often ask for them during an unsolicited sales pitch.

The bottom line, according to the FTC: Ignore all mail and phone solicitations for foreign lottery promotions. If you receive what looks like lottery material from a foreign country, give it to your local postmaster.

To report telemarketing fraud of any kind, contact your state Attorney General.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

[ back to top ]