SALT LAKE CITY–CU members continue to be targeted by fraudsters claiming to be their credit unions.
The most recent targets have been members of Mountain America Credit Union in Utah, where suspect text messages have been showing up in recent weeks on the phones of members and other residents.
“They typically contain urgent messages warning about unusual activity on an account or an account being put on hold, and there’s almost always a URL link,” reported Fox 13 News.
Alex Barker, the chief information officer at the credit union, told the news outlet the texts are not coming from Mountain America and the best line of defense is to ignore the messages.
"The greatest thing to be done is to recognize that your institution is not going to reach out to you with an urgent message," said Alex Barker.
For those who do happen to click on the link or enter personal information, Barker told Fox 13 News it’s “not the end of the world, but added that people need to take action right away by either contacting the bank or credit union and get them to freeze your credit.”
Other CUs Contacted
Barker further said Mountain America has been in touch with other credit unions that have previously been targeted by the so-called smishing or texting scams, which have become a lot more deceptive and widespread.
"In the past six to nine months the amount of smishing text message complaints have gone up dramatically," Casey Harrington, supervisor of the FBI Cyber Task Force, told Fox 13 News.. "That seems to be the new, avenue criminals are using."
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