ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — First Financial Credit Union here is warning its members and community about a pre-approval scam that it said it fears could be related to the gigantic Equifax breach.
The credit union reported that one consumer has already reported being targeted in a scam in which his date of birth, Social Security number and some information about his past loans was involved, Greg Shaver, senior vice president of lending at FFCU, told the Albuquerque Journal.
It is just that kind of personally identifiable information that is among the data that was involved in the Equifax breach, which involved records for approximately 143-million Americans.
According to First Financial, the person targeted in Albuquerque was sent an email (the CU believes hard copies may also be sent via the USPS) that included the credit union’s logo as well as a California number to call. The Albuquerque Journal reported the person who answers the phone will ask for the consumer’s online banking information so a $6,000 loan can be directly deposited on that person’s behalf.
A common scam, the person who is targeted is then asked to make a trial deposit of $1,000 to make sure the “transaction works,” Shaver told the Albuquerque Journal. The $1,000 is lost, of course, and the scammers now have all the online banking information of the victim.
First Financial told the publication that members and non-members should be aware they will not be receiving pre-approved loan offers from the CU.