JACKSONVILLE, Ark.—Members of another credit union are being hit with calls from scammers claiming to be their CU’s fraud department and managing to cheat at least some out of their money, possibly as the result of a data breach at a local merchant.
The latest to be hit by the spoof calls are members of Arkansas FCU, where the script being used will sound familiar to many. The member receives a call in which the caller identifies themselves as being with Arkansas FCU and then says the member’s card has been used to make a purchase out of state. The member is asked to confirm the address listed on their account and using just that information, money is removed by the fraudster.
One AFCU member told local KATV that she was victimized and lost $3,000 as a result.
Several-Dozen Reports
Officials with Arkansas Federal told KATV they've received several-dozen reports of the deceptive calls with varying back stories, and reminded that it doesn’t make those types of calls. Instead, any call would come from its card processor.
"The fraudsters, obviously they're getting smarter and smarter," a spokesperson told the news outlet. "They're figuring out how to do this, it's getting more and more challenging to try to recognize what used to be very easy to recognize for a lot of people – now it's more challenging."
Not a Breach at CU
Arkansas FCU stressed the scam is not the result of a breach at the credit union, but it could be the result of a data breach at an area retailer. The scammers already have shoppers' debit card information, noted Arkansas FCU, which said its security department is investigating.
According to KATV, the credit union isn’t the only local financial institution being targeted by the scam.