ID Awareness & Security
Your Credit Union keeps you up-to-date on potential threats to the confidentiality of your personal financial information.
IDENTITY THEFT
How to protect yourself from identity theft, and how to recover if you are victimized.
IDENTITY & FRAUD PROTECTION
Protecting the identity of our members is a top priority at New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union. We urge you to spend time reviewing this essential information. It's what you need to educate and protect yourself from identity theft, avoid the hassle and expense of fraud on your accounts, and quickly respond if you become suspicious or become a victim.
Complimentary to All of Our Members:
VRS Elite™ Fraud Resolution Services
If you have a question about fraud or think you are a victim of identity theft, simply call 866-443-3728 - toll-free 24/7. Services include case file creation, victim statements, fraud affidavits, and much more.
More Protection If You Want It
Check Your Credit Report at Least Once a Year
Online Security Program Enhances Safety
Reduce the Chances of Having Your Identity Stolen
Freeze Out Thieves
Travelers Beware: Free Wi-Fi Scam Strikes Airports
International Scams Seek to Steal American Dollars
“National Do Not E-mail Registry” Is a Hoax
More Protection If You Want It
Additional products and services are available at a 25% discount if you have a checking account at New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union. Before ordering supplemental products, call our Anywhere Advisors at 889-7755 (800-347-2838 from outside the Albuquerque area) and request your discount code word. Then place your order online or by calling toll-free 866-443-3728 Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Mountain Time).
You can optimize your identity protection by adding:
Core Identity Protection ™
- $25,000 of broad identity insurance, including lost wages up to $10,000, reasonable legal fees and court costs, reasonable and necessary travel costs, and reimbursement for actual losses up to $5,000.
- Access to a comprehensive online resource guide that includes loss prevention steps to reduce the likelihood of becoming an identity fraud victim.
- Detailed analysis of privacy and security issues, along with worksheets and action items to help gain back your identity.
Individual: $24.95/year (18.71 with your discount)
Family: $44.95/year ($33.71 with your discount)
Core Identity Protection™with Weekly Single Bureau Monitoring
Monitor your credit file at Equifax with "weekly" notification of key changes in your credit file. When Single Bureau Monitoring is combined with Core Identity Protection (above), you'll have great protection at an affordable price.
Individual: $69.95/year ($52.46/year with your discount)
Core Identity Protection™ with ID Patrol - Maximum Proactive Protection
Easily lock/unlock your Equifax credit file, scan the internet for sensitive personal information and monitor your credit file at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion with "daily" notification of key changes in these credit files.
Individual: $124.95/year ($93.71 with your discount)
The information provided here is for information purposes only. All products are subject to specific terms, conditions and limitations. Identity insurance is not available to residents of NY. Prices subject to change.
Check Your Credit Report at Least Once a Year
Each major credit bureau is required to provide one free credit report annually to consumers who request a copy. You can request your report by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 877-322-8228.
However, by requesting your report separately from each credit bureau, you can check your report three times a year.
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Equifax: 888-766-0008; www.equifax.com
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Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com
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TransUnion: 888-909-8872; www.transunion.com
Online Security Program Enhances Safety
Visa U.S.A. has an online security program called "Verified by Visa" that adds safety and reassures that only you can use your Visa card online. The voluntary service allows you to add a personal password to your existing Visa card. When you make purchases at participating online stores, you'll validate your identity by entering your password on a special Verified by Visa window.
All Visa Check Cards and Credit Cards issued by New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union are eligible for Verified by Visa. You can register your card through Visa's website, http://www.visa.com/verifed/.
Once Verified by Visa is activated, your card will be recognized when you make purchases at participating online stores. A special window will pop up asking for your password, your identity will be verified, and the transaction will be completed.
Reduce the Chances of Having Your Identity Stolen
These suggestions are a good start for protecting your confidential financial information. Try to make time to learn even more and take additional preventative actions.
- Buy a cross-cut type shredder. Make it a habit to shred all your important papers -- especially pre-approved credit offers received with your name and address preprinted -- and other financial information that provides access to your private information. Also be sure to shred your credit card receipts after you've compared them with your monthly or online statement.
- Beware of "dumpster diving." Make sure you don't put anything in your trash that someone could use to steal your identity. Anything with personal financial information should be shredded before being thrown away.
- Have your name removed from promotional lists by writing: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, P. O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, NY 11735.
- When you order new credit cards in the mail or your previous ones have expired, watch the calendar to make sure you receive the card within the expected timeframe. If hasn't arrived by a certain date, immediately call the credit card issuer and find out if the card was sent. Ask if a change of address was filed if you don't receive the card or a monthly billing statement.
- Cancel all credit cards you don't plan to use or have not used in six months. Thieves can use these very easily. Open credit is a prime target.
- Review all statements for each of your credit cards every month. Check to see if there is anything you don't recognize and call the card issuer to verify that it is truly yours. Better yet, check your account activity every week online.
- Immediately correct all mistakes on your credit reports in writing. Identify the problems item by item and send your letter Return Receipt Requested, along with a photocopy of the credit report back, to the credit reporting agency. You should hear from them within 30 days.
- Have your boxes of personalized checks delivered to a nearby Credit Union branch office, rather than to your home.
- Don't put checks in the mail from your home mailbox. Drop them off at a U.S. Mailbox or at a U.S. Post Office. Mail theft is common. It's easy to change the name of the recipient on a check with an acid wash.
- If you don't have a mail slot in your front door, get a post office box or a locked mailbox, if you possibly can.
- Empty your wallet of all extra credit cards, Social Security numbers, etc. Don't carry any identifiers you do not need. Don't carry your birth certificate, Social Security card, or passport, unless necessary.
- Make a list of all your credit card account numbers and financial account numbers with customer service phone numbers, and keep it in a safe place. (Don't keep it on the hard drive of your computer if you are connected to the Internet.)
- Be cautious at ATM's and when using prepaid phone cards in public. "Shoulder surfers" could steal your PIN (Personal Identification Number) as a way of getting access to your accounts.
- Ask all financial institutions, hospitals, doctors' offices, etc. that you deal with to state how they protect your private information.
- If someone calls you at home or at work and you don't know the person, never give out any of your personal information. If they say they are a credit grantor of yours, call them back at the phone number that you know is the true number, and ask for that person to discuss your personal information. Provide only information that you believe is absolutely necessary.
Freeze Out Thieves
Freezing your credit can help protect your reputation as a credit-worthy consumer, but it's likely to cost you both time and money.
Most lenders review applications for credit by obtaining a credit report from one of the three major credit reporting bureaus:
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Equifax: 888-766-0008; www.equifax.com
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Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com
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TransUnion: 888-909-8872; www.transunion.com
A credit freeze, sometimes called a "security freeze," blocks the credit bureaus from releasing a credit report, which helps prevent identity thieves from misusing your personal information to gain access to new forms of credit issued in your name. You must block each credit report separately. If you want to obtain a new credit card or loan, you must temporarily or permanently remove the credit freeze.
All New Mexico consumers have the right to have a security freeze placed on their credit report after making a written request to a consumer reporting agency by certified or regular mail, or by telephone or a secure electronic method if such is provided by a consumer reporting agency. There is no charge for this service in these cases: -
Consumers 65 years of age or older are entitled to have a freeze placed on their credit file and removed free of charge.
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Victims of identity theft are entitled to a security freeze free of charge if their request is accompanied by a copy of a police report alleging the crime of identity theft.
Otherwise, you may be charged up to $10 for each request to place a freeze, and up to $5 to remove or temporarily lift a security freeze on their credit file.
More detailed information about using a security freeze is available at our website, www.nmefcu.org.
Due to the broad appeal of text messaging for business and personal communications, phishing scams now also target mobile phone users by using a text to initiate a communication. For example, text message phishing occurs when customers receive a text message from what appears to be a reputable financial institution prompting them to call a telephone "number due to a possible fraudulent transaction" on their account. They are then requested to divulge their PIN number or other personal details on the pretence of changing their PIN to secure their account. The fraudster, however, is now able to access the victim's funds.
One such fraudulent attempt to capture card numbers has been reported by CO-OP Financial Services which operates a nationwide network of ATM's. Consumers have received an automated text message from "CO-OP Services Credit Union Customer Services Department" from the four-digit phone number: 3693.
The text message indicates that the member’s credit or debit card has unusual activity on their account. In order to restore the member’s account access, the message asks the member to call 813-600-1551 and enter their 16-digit credit or debit card number along with three additional pieces of information that are linked to the member’s account.
CO-OP Financial Services would never refer to themselves as CO-OP Services Credit Union Customer Services Department, and would not send text messages to cardholders about their accounts.
Travelers Beware: Free Wi-Fi Scam Strikes at Airports
In order to keep up in today’s world, travelers need to stay connected, even on the road. Many airports and other public spaces offer free wireless, or Wi-Fi, connections for the public to log onto the Internet from their laptop computers. The Better Business Bureau warns that hackers are now taking advantage of this convenience by setting up fake Wi-Fi connections designed to steal your personal information and files without you even knowing.
Although hackers can and have set up fake Wi-Fi connections in a number of venues, usually they will target consumers at airports. When searching for connections, consumers may see a network connection available that could be simply named "Free Wi-Fi." Thinking it’s the free connection offered by the establishment, they’ll log on. Unfortunately, the network may actually be an "ad-hoc" network, or a peer-to-peer connection. The user will be able to surf the Internet, but they’re doing it through the hacker’s computer. And the whole time, the hacker is stealing information like passwords, credit card and bank account numbers, and Social Security numbers. Beyond simply stealing keystroke information as the user enters various types of data, if the PC is set to share files, the hacker could even steal whole documents from the computer.
International Scams Seek to Steal American Dollars
The global economy and the Internet are combining to bring residents of the world together in new ways. While that often leads to positive experiences, it also makes it more likely that Americans will encounter international con artists on the Internet or while traveling for business or pleasure.
Avoid Nigerian Letters
Nigerian Letter scams are an example of how international scams target U.S. residents via messages delivered by e-mail, fax, or U.S. mail. Nigerian Letters claim that an authority figure in Nigeria or another African nation needs help transferring millions of dollars to U.S.accounts.
If the U.S.resident agrees to help, he or she is promised a percentage of those funds. But first, the resident must send an advance fee to cover transaction costs. Once the money is sent, the sender of the letter disappears.
Advance Fee Scams
Other scams that may involve fees or other payments sent in advance include:
● Inheritance scams linked to a supposed legacy from a long-lost relative.
● Dating scams that snare lovelorn Americans through online dating sites.
● Employment scams that claim to offer work permits for highly-paid jobs abroad.
● Lottery scams that claim the recipient won the lottery in a foreign country.
● Online auction scams that ask sellers to immediately refund purchase price "overpayments" made with counterfeit international money orders.
“National Do Not E-mail Registry” Is a Hoax
A warning to Internet users: Do not submit your email address or any personal information to any site claiming to be a "National Do Not E-mail Registry."
Unsolicited commercial e-mail - commonly referred to as spam - is choking inboxes and frustrating computer users worldwide. In a desperate attempt to curb the deluge of spam, many consumers have fallen victim to a bogus site that mimics the language, look, and navigation of the website for the popular National Do Not Call Registry, which has more than 58 million subscribers.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is concerned that the "unsub.us" site could be part of a high-tech scam that uses a deceptive website to trick consumers into disclosing sensitive personal information. The site may be a trick to collect valid e-mail addresses to sell to spammers. Worse, the information collected from unsuspecting subscribers may be used to commit identity theft.
If you get an email claiming to represent the "Do Not E-mail Registry," an organization to stop spam, or even the FTC itself, report it to the FTC at www.ftc.gov or call toll-free 877-382-4357. Although the FTC is studying the feasibility of a national registry, no legitimate e-mail registry exists at this time.
In December 2008, five agencies of the Federal government issued an updated edition of their brochure, "You Have the Power to Stop Identity Theft." Click here to download and print this brochure.
Here are effective ways to continue protecting your financial data:
- Closely monitor your financial accounts at least once a month. You can monitor your Credit Union accounts by using Internet Banking, the financial management tool at our website, www.nmefcu.org. If you have one of our credit cards, online service is available at: www.eZcardinfo.com.
- Contact us immediately with any change in your address or phone number.
- New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union will NEVER ask you in a phone call, e-mail or letter for account numbers, credit card numbers, CCV numbers, PIN numbers, or any other private information.
- Don't be tricked - even clicking on a link in an email can install unwanted programs in your computer that can steal your private information. If you receive any suspicious emails, delete them immediately.
- Periodically check your credit reports distributed by the three major credit bureaus, and you have the right to receive one free copy of your credit report, once every twelve months. To request this report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com.
● Identity Fraud, Inc.: www.identityfraud.com/nmefcu or 866-443-3728
● Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/idtheft or 877-438-4338
● Free Annual Credit Report: www.annualcreditreport.com or 877-322-8228
● Identity Theft Quiz and Consumer Tips: www.idsafety.net
● Identity Theft Resource Center (includes pages in Spanish): www.idtheftcenter.org
● International Updates on Phishing Scams: www.antiphishing.org
● United States Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/fraud/websites/idtheft.html
