Related Links

• FTC - ID Theft site
• OnGuard Online - protect yourself
• Identity Theft Resource Center
• Consumers Union - ID Theft Protection
• Indiana Attorney General - Consumer Protection

Protecting your assets and your identity

Your credit union takes your financial, online and personal security seriously. You can count on Interra Credit Union to provide information and resources to help prevent you from becoming a victim. Use this information to help you safeguard your personal and financial records from fraud and identity theft.

• Identity Theft
• Phishing
• Smishing
• Vishing
• Credit Reports
• Credit Bureaus
• Do Not Call Lists
• Reduce Pre-Approved Offers
• Counterfeit Checks and Scams
• Password Guidelines
• Anti-Virus Software 
• Financial Resource Center - Avoiding Frauds & Scams Page 

Identity Theft – fighting back

At Interra Credit Union, we take identity theft seriously and continuously monitor security procedures to protect you and your accounts. Please know that a credit union representative will not call you and ask for your account number. A request for any important account numbers or your social security number should be treated suspiciously, as scam artists frequently pose as financial institution representatives.

Deter. Detect. Defend.

The Federal Trade Commission provides valuable, detailed information on its website, ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/

Back to Top

Phishing

Phishing is a process by which scam artists try and get you to divulge your Social Security number, your account numbers, address or other personal information under the guise of a legitimate company with which you may already be doing business.  The e-mail directs the user to visit a web site where you are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, Social Security, and financial institution account numbers. The web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.

What if you responded to a phishing e-mail, or if you have questions?

If you are ever concerned that you received a phishing email, or have questions about an e-mail that appears to come from the credit union, please contact us by phone at 574.534.2506 or 888.432.2848, or forward the email in question to us at msg@interracu.com. We’re here to help you! 

Legitimate e-mails

You may receive legitimate e-mails from the credit union in the form of information, updates or promotions. However, as stated before, we will never ask for personal information.

Back to Top

Smishing

Like phishing, SMiShing is a method used by criminals to extract your personal or account information.  Using SMS (short message service) – commonly known as text messages – the thieves will text users, usually fronting as a financial institution, asking them to call a phone number or visit a website to verify financial information.       

Vishing

Vishing is the criminal practice of using telephone technology to gain access to private personal and financial information from people. The primary purpose is to steal credit card numbers or other personal information for the purpose of identity theft. The term is a combination of "voice" and phishing. To protect yourself, you should be highly suspicious when receiving messages that direct you to call a number and provide credit card or bank numbers. Rather than provide any information, you are advised to contact your financial institution or credit card company directly to verify the validity of the message.

Don’t fall for it! Err on the side of caution.

Interra Credit Union, and other legitimate organizations, will never ask you to provide sensitive information such as account numbers, user names, passwords, your mother’s maiden name or your Social Security number through links in an e-mail or by phone. If you receive an e-mail or a phone message requesting this type of information, do not respond to it.

Never provide your personal information to anyone or any company, no matter how legitimate it may seem, unless you have initiated the contact, whether online or by phone. Anytime anyone asks you for personal information, use your own account customer service number (not the one included in the mailing or the phone message) to speak to a live person to verify that the request is real.

Back to Top

Obtaining a free copy of your credit report

To order your free annual report from one or all of the national consumer reporting companies, you should not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually.

They provide free annual credit reports only if you do one of the following:

• Visit annualcreditreport.com 
• Call toll-free 877.322.8228 
• Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: 
       Annual Credit Report Request Service 
       P.O. Box 105281 Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Other consumer rights to free reports

Under federal law, you’re entitled to a free report if: 

• A company takes adverse action against you, such as denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, and you request your report within 60 days of receiving notice of the action (The notice will give you the name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting company.) 
   
• You’re also entitled to one free report a year if you’re unemployed and plan to look for a job within 60 days; you’re on welfare, or your report is inaccurate because of fraud.

Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may charge you a fee for another copy of your report.

Source: Federal Trade Commission ID theft website

Back to Top

Credit Bureaus

Get on the Do Not Call lists

To help reduce the number of unsolicited telephone calls you receive, and as another means to deter identity theft, you may want to get on “do not call lists.”

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have created a National Do Not Call Registry where people can register their residential phone number to reduce telemarketing calls.

There are some exemptions on the national list, including charities and telephone surveyors. The exemption also includes companies to which you’ve made an inquiry or submitted an application for a period of three months. 

The national list does NOT provide Indiana residents with the same amount of protection that you receive under Indiana’s law. Indiana’s law is more inclusive so you will actually get more protection by being registered on the Indiana Do Not Call Registry. Unlike many other states, Indiana does not transfer its residents’ registered phone numbers to the FTC. That’s why it’s a good idea to register on BOTH the national and the Indiana state lists.

National Do Not Call registry

The Federal government created a registry to make it easier and more efficient for you to stop getting telemarketing calls you don’t want. Registration is FREE. You can:

• Register online  or
• Call 888.382.1222

(If you register on the national list, you are automatically registered in Michigan.)

Indiana Do Not Call registry

Registration is FREE 24 hours a day – 7 days a week. You’ll be asked to provide some basic information, such as your home phone number, name, and address. You can:

• Register here on the Indiana Attorney General's web site (This site also has a wealth of information for the benefit of Indiana consumers)  or 
• Call 888.834.9969

Back to Top

Reduce pre-approval offers

Every day your mailbox may contain an interesting offer of pre-approved credit or insurance. Criminals may try to intercept these pre-approved offers as a means to gain personal information. When you receive offers in the mail, you are encouraged to shred, rather than throw away, the solicitations.

If you’d rather not receive these offers, you have the right to “opt-out”, in order to prevent consumer credit reporting companies from using your credit file information for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance.

The major consumer credit reporting agencies have developed a website – optoutprescreen.com – for individuals (not businesses or companies) to choose the opt-out option. This strategy can be used as one way to help prevent identity theft. 

Back to Top

Counterfeit checks & scams  

With advanced computer technology and desktop publishing, scammers are producing more and more counterfeit checks that look like official cashier’s checks, money orders or corporate checks. 

Thieves prey on trusting people, knowing that they believe official looking checks provide a safe way to transact money. Some of their techniques include:

• The counterfeit check is presented to pay for an item that you advertised for sale, especially an expensive item, like a car.
• You receive a counterfeit check in the mail as lottery or prize winnings for a contest you never entered. Remember, if it’s too good to be true…

If you receive a check and question its legitimacy, you should:

• Bring the check to one of our managers and we will assist you in determining its authenticity.
• Call the paying bank identified on the check. However, don’t use the phone number printed on the check as it is likely a part of the scam. Rather, verify the telephone number using an online search or contact the credit union for assistance.
• Request that any payments you receive come from a local institution or a local branch.

Wait for the check to clear before withdrawing cash or writing checks against the deposited funds. Also, if the check is payable for an item, you may want to wait to deliver the item until the check clears.  

Back to Top

Password guidelines

• Make your password as long as possible. The longer it is, the longer it takes a password-cracking program to figure out what it is.
• Use numbers, upper case letters, and lower case letters in your password. This prevents easy guessing of your password by using password-cracking programs.
• Don’t use dictionary words or names. The first thing password cracking programs try to use is a dictionary word.
• Change your password frequently. Change your password as often as possible to prevent abuse of a password that someone might have obtained illegitimately. If you suspect that your password has been compromised, change it immediately.
• Keep it confidential. Don’t write down your password or tell it to anyone. Also, don’t let Windows® remember your passwords. 

Password examples

   Good

• mh@LLwfaw@s (“Mary has a little lamb, with fleece as white as snow.”) – This password uses both lower and upper case letters; it also replaces the letter “a” with “@” in two places.
• RtRnRd3#r (“Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer.”) – This password includes upper and lower case letters, a number and a special character.
• kwMPczNG! (The initials of the key injured players for a baseball team) – This password uses upper and lower case letters and includes a special character.

   Bad

• Bontrager (a last name) – Do not use your last name as your password. Any name, including that of your spouse or child, is a bad password.
• Marshmallow – This password uses only lower case letters and it is a word that can be found in the dictionary. 

Note: These passwords are provided only as samples. Please don’t use any of these passwords, as someone else may try to use them to break into your account!

Back to Top

Anti-virus software

You can adopt several security strategies. Make sure anti-virus protection is at the top of the list. Countless new viruses or variants of current viruses are continually introduced.

Things to watch for that may indicate a compromise are:

• Unknown applications have been installed on your system
• Unusual activity occurs on your computer, such as
  • Hard drive grinding when you are not using your computer
  • The mouse cursor moving on its own
  • The Windows/CD tray opens or closes by itself
• Files or folders are missing

Back to Top