Warning over bogus credit union e-mail

WARNINGS HAVE been issued about an e-mail scam currently in circulation which is targeting Irish credit union members.

The e-mail, purporting to be from the Irish League of Credit Unions account review department, comes with the heading “security alert” or “unauthorised access to your account”.

It says that, because of fears of potential fraud, the recipient needs to submit personal details, including their debit card number, through a form on a website for verification. It warns that account access will be limited “until the issue has been resolved” and threatens unsuspecting consumers that unless the form is completed their accounts may be closed. The e-mail is a type of fraud known as “phishing” that is rife in the financial sector.

“This is very targeted and the people behind it have obviously done their homework,” Peter Oakes of the financial regulation firm Compliance Ireland told The Irish Times. “They know for instance that credit unions don’t issue credit cards, only debit cards, and they have put a lot of work into recreating the look and feel of the credit union site.”

He said he tracked the website’s registration details to an individual in Melbourne but said the information provided to hosting companies would be bogus. The credit union group last night issued a statement warning of the “bogus, illegal request for confidential information”.