We are aware that texts similar to the two below have been going out to many people in our area. PCU fraud alerts will only ever ask members for a Yes or No response.
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We are aware that texts similar to the two below have been going out to many people in our area.
Panhandle CU: Your card was recently used at WALMART for $587.99. If this was not you, go to officenet.co/etc to stop it.
Panhandle CU: Your card was recently used at CVS for $985.93. Ignore if you perform this or go to nansenc.ro/etc to stop it.
This is NOT from Panhandle Credit Union. Do not click on the text or go to the site to enter any personal or account information.
PCU fraud alerts will only ever ask members for a Yes or No response.
Rest assured that Panhandle’s data has NOT been compromised. This type of text is common practice for scammers. They purchase a bank of cell phone numbers and send out texts like the one shown above to everyone. They will likely send out the same text with the names of other local financial institutions, as well. They have no way of knowing what financial institutions the cell phone owners may do business with.
They are basically counting on the law of averages. They will surely hit some members of our credit union in the large group of phone numbers in their target group, but they will also be sending the text to many people who are not members.
From their standpoint, all they need is a few people to believe the text is real. They do the same thing with email addresses. They purchase email addresses from people in specific geographical areas and send emails out as if they are from a local financial institution.
Don’t fall for it and become a victim of a scam.
If you have any doubt, contact your financial institution directly at the phone number on the website you are familiar with or log into Online Banking and contact them through there. Use familiar contact methods only. Never click on a link in an unexpected text or email.
If you believe you have already provided your personal or account information to a suspicious person/site, please contact us immediately so we can do what we can to protect your account.