Email Security: How to catch fraud before it catches you

With the growing frequency and sophistication of phishing emails, spoofing websites, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone scams, it is more important than ever to be vigilant.

What is "spoofing?"
Scammers create fraudulent websites that mimic legitimate companies. They then seek to gain personal/financial information through online forms/applications or to download viruses, such as “key loggers” that record and transmit account numbers and passwords entered on the infected computer.

What is "phishing?"
Using fraudulent emails and “spoofed” websites, scammers request personal financial data such as credit card numbers, account numbers and passwords, social security numbers, etc.

What is VoIP phone fraud?
Using "phishing" emails directing customers to dail an easily obtainable VoIP phone number instead of going to a website to update their personal information.

If something seems fishy, it is probably phishy

Scammers try to create perfect replicas of a company's website and/or emails. But they usually don't succeed. Often there are misspelled words and informational inaccuracies, there may be incorrect logos or website colors, and the emails may not match the real company's standard template. If you receive an email that seems just "not quite right," don't take a chance: don't click on any links provided in the email and contact the company by phone to see if the email is legitimate.
Scammers also use fear to try to get users to enter their personal data. The emails they send often talk of suspended accounts or blocked accounts. They use dramatic language to drive users to act now "or else," and they only give an online means for solving the supposed urgent matter. Also, the emails are usually not personalized with the recipient's name and instead use a general greeting like "Dear Customer."
Lastly, the scammers will ask for personal or financial information within the email or at the spoofed site. This may be information that they, as a company you do business with, should already have. It may also be information that the legitimate company would have no reason to ask, like your ATM card PIN or Social Security number.

Education
Learn more about online fraud, and how to avoid it.

Tech CU Emails
Email is a great way of communicating with our members about Tech CU news & events, information regarding your account, and promotional information. To help you know when an email message from Tech CU is legitimate, here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

We will not ask for your personal or financial information within the body of an email.
We will never ask for your ATM or credit card PIN and you should never give that information to anyone not authorized to use your account.
We will not ask you for ATM or credit card information in order to reactivate or renew your account, Online Banking or Bill Pay service.
We will not ask you to enter your User Name and Password in order to verify a transaction, activate a suspended account, or clear a security alert on your account. Any emails we send on security issues will be as a courtesy secondary contact.
We will not send you emails asking you to update your personal information by dialing a phone number. To update your information, use only the number on the back of your card or call our Contact Center at (800) 553-0880.
You always have the option of calling our Contact Center at (800) 553-0880 or visiting one of our Financial Centers to complete any transaction or check the validity of an email.
The only places where we will request your User Name and Password are: TechCU.com homepage login, Online Banking login page, loan pre-approval acceptance, and loan applications (optional).
Tech CU page URLs contain techcu.com, such as www.techcu.com, webbranch.techcu.com, membercompany.techcu.com. We do provide links to third-party resources, but they will not request your Tech CU account or login information.
The login page for Online Banking is webbranch.techcu.com or through our homepage at www.techcu.com.
In order to log into Online Banking, you will be shown your Security Image. If the Security Image is not correct or visible, do not enter your Password and call us at (800) 553-0880 for assistance.

What to do if you get phished
If you suspect that an email you received is fraudulent, do not click on any links in the email. Contact the company that was supposed to have sent the email. The company may want a copy of the email sent to them, but delete the email after that.

Also, consider getting a browser toolbar, such as EarthLink ScamBlocker, that alerts when you visit a known phishing site and keep your browser up to date with the latest security patches.

If you receive a Tech CU email that you think may be spoofed, you may always contact us at (800) 553-0880 or send us a message to verify if the email is legitimate.