ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–The Albuquerque market has been hit with a number of aggressive financial scams that go as far as to include home visits.
In a separate fraud attempt, one local credit union has also been targeted with a fake email that warns members of a “large withdrawal” having been made.
The scams have targeted residents across Sandoval County, N.M., and have also included postcards and phone calls telling them their homes are about to be foreclosed upon or put up for sale.
A spokesperson for Sandoval County told the Albuquerque Journal that in some cases the mailed notices are followed by a “knock on the door” or a phone call presumably to tell people how to avoid foreclosure.
The state Attorney General’s Office is warning that several New Mexico residents have reported losing money to one of these scams, which tries to dupe people into giving out their account information, the Journal added.
“The scammers are plying their trade in this case by email, text and phone, and the basic idea is to get people to a fake bank website that shows this message: ‘Security Alert: Suspicious Login Noticed,’” according to the Journal. “There’s a link, and consumers are asked to enter their bank information, passwords, debit card numbers and personal identification (PIN) numbers.”
CU Being Targeted in Email
Separately, also in Albuquerque, Nusenda Credit Union has been the subject of a scam in which emails are being sent with the subject line “Large Withdrawal Alert.” That email then sends the recipient to a website that closely resembles the Nusenda site and claims that a withdrawal of a particular amount has just been made from the member’s savings account.”
“If you did not make this withdrawal, Please LOGIN NOW to dispute and recover your money ASAP. Sincerely, Nusenda Credit Union,” the email reads.
Again, the scammers’ goal is to capture members’ actual financial information.