FRAUDULENT SWEEPSTAKES

Fraudulent sweepstakes letters are being received nationwide accompanied by checks drawn on a non-existent account at Unified People's Federal Credit Union. Please be aware that UPFCU is NOT involved in any Sweepstakes at this time. Any time you receive a letter stating that you have won a sweepstakes that a) you have not entered and/or b) requires you to send in payment for “fees,” it is a scam. To see the fraudulent sweepstakes letter and check, click here. Feel free to contact UPFCU anytime you receive a suspicious check.

Beware of Phishers Posing as NCUA, Alert Warns

The NCUA recently issued a fraud alert to warn credit unions about a recent phishing attempt to obtain credit card account numbers and expiration dates. In reported cases, fraudulent e-mails were sent to credit union members and to the general public stating that the, “National Credit Union Administration temporarily suspended your account due to fraud attempts.” The e-mail then requests a call be made to a toll-free number to reactivate the account.

The new alert states that the NCUA does not ask credit union members for such information and anyone who receives the e-mail from the NCUA should consider it a fraudulent request. People that receive the e-mail should forward the entire message to phishing@ncua.gov. Any formal complaints can be filed with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.