Don't Get Hooked by "Phishing"

RCU is dedicated to the prevention of fraudulent activity. A current form of fraud today is a high-tech scam known as "phishing" (pronounced "fishing").

Phishing is a fraudulent communication usually in the form of an email that tricks recipients into surrendering private, personal or financial information including account and credit card information, user names, passwords, and/or social security number.

The email appears to be "legitimate" and create a false sense of urgency and often request immediate action. The emails instruct recipients to 'update' or 'validate' account information. Readers are directed to a Web site that appears to be 'legitimate' where instructions to enter personal information are provided.

To protect yourself from Phishing, take these precautions:

If you get an email or pop-up message requesting personal or financial information, do not reply or click on the link in the message.

Don't email personal or financial information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide information through an organization's website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser's status bar or a URL for a website that begins "https:" ('s' stands for "secure").

Review financial statements as soon as possible for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late, call the institution immediately.

Use anti-virus software and update it regularly.

Be cautious about opening attachments or files, particularly from 'similar' or unknown sources.