We have recently been made aware that fraudsters are attempting to gain access to accounts or get you to click on their links. They have also spoofed our phone number in an attempt to fool you into engagement.
What should you do?
If you receive any suspicious phone calls or texts, please do not respond to them, don't redial that number, or click any links provided.
Instead reach out to us directly by calling a representative at 303.234.1700. Staff are trained to confirm your identity by asking you security questions that only you would know the answers to. We will then be able to verify with you if that was real or an attempted scam.
Rest assure Credit Union of Denver is not compromised. These fraudsters can get information from any number of resources in the digital world. Scammers normally do not communicate with their victims on behalf of an entity or financial institution, they simply attempt to lure their victims into providing PII (personal identification information) and/or banking account/routing numbers to begin their victim exploitation.
We are providing Cyber knowledge and overall awareness to help you stay safe. Here is some information to help arm you with knowledge on how to recognize scammers.
Vishing – Fake phone calls
Vishing, or voice phishing, is the fraudulent practice of making phone calls or leaving voice messages claiming to be from reputable companies to trick individuals into revealing personal information, such as bank details and credit card numbers.
The fraudster typically calls the victim saying they are from their bank or another institution and informs them that there is a problem with their account or credit card that needs to be resolved urgently. Example in image above.
Smishing – Fake Text SMS alerts
Smishing is the fraudulent practice of sending text messages claiming to be from reputable companies in order to trick individuals into revealing personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers.
These texts could include links that if you click on may take you to a fake website designed to steal your sensitive information. Some smishing links could contain spyware and/or malware that allow hackers access to your device.
A member’s story.
Recently, a member called to inform us that she was the target of an attempted vishing and smishing scam. The fraudsters were spoofing our phone number to appear legitimate.
Imposters are able to duplicate our phone number and call pretending that they are from here, when they aren't. It may also come up on your phone as 'CUD member services'. However, this is not how our phone number comes up when we call you. They claimed to work at Credit Union of Denver and gave a pretend badge number. Please note that C•U•D employees do not have badge numbers.
These cybercriminals also attempted smishing scams through text messaging. These fake texts came across as text alerts for fake transactions being made with the member's cards. The example shown has emoticons in the message, our messages never have emoticons in them.
This member did the right thing by ignoring these attempts and calling us directly to check if we were trying to contact them or if it was fake. If you ever have any questions do not hesitate to call us directly at 303.234.1700.
Please stay safe and stay alert.
To learn more about cyber security check out our Security Center.