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Fraud Alert- October 29, 2007

As we all know, phishing scams and other fraudulent activity are on the rise, putting you at risk. Like those in the past, this scam appears to come from an "official" financial institution and attempts to obtain personal information from the email recipient.

To promote awareness, Buffalo Metropolitan Federal Credit Union is sharing details about two recent phishing emails. View samples of these emails:
Example 1
Example 2

The Credit Union will never ask a member to provide their personal information to an unsolicited telephone call, fax, letter, email, or Internet advertisement.  If you are unsure if something you received is from the credit union, call (716) 847- 6960 ext. 238.


Buffalo Metropolitan Federal Credit Union is excited to announce AlertMe, a new credit-monitoring service designed to help members fight identity theft which is a growing problem that affects millions of Americans.  AlertMe gives early warning of activity on your credit report.  Since credit report activity can be a sign of possible identity theft, early detection can help you catch problems quickly to minimize losses!

AlertMe monitors your Experian credit file daily. New accounts, credit cards over the credit limit, and address changes are just a few of the items AlertMe monitors.  If an activity occurs, AlertMe will send you an email alerting you to the activity.  You can log into the AlertMe Web site to read details about the activity and determine if it is suspicious. AlertMe will also send an email to remind you to order your annual free credit reports.

The AlertMe cost is $4.25 month. Quarterly and annual plans are available at a reduced rate. To enroll or learn more, simply click here!

Alert Notification of VISA Debit/Credit Cards

Buffalo Metropolitan Federal Credit Union has been notified by VISA that an outside vendor's data base was broken into.  The Cardholders that may have been affected will have their cards blocked and reissued.

The Buffalo Metropolitan Federal Credit Union is taking immediate action by notifying our members by telephone or letter.  We are sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused however; we have a fiduciary obligation to protect all member accounts. 

We ask members who may have been affected to view their statements and report any suspicious transactions to the Credit Union at 716-847-6960.

The Visa Fraud Department has confirmed this incident is linked to TJX Companies (TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Marshalls, and A.J. Wright in the United States and HomeSense and Winners in Canada).  Click here for the News Release at TJX Companies.

Click here for more information of this growing trend of Identity Theft.

Victims of Identity Crime:  Click here to access information on how to contact the national consumer reporting agencies to place a "fraud alert" on your credit report.

Recently, there have been multiple e-mail fraud attempts, known as "Phishing,” that were initiated via e-mail sent to both the general public and to some credit union members that appeared to be from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). This false e-mail asked for the recipient to click on a link to verify their credit union account registration. If the recipient proceeded to do so, the link directed them to a false website and asked for their credit union account number and PIN, along with other personal information.

The NCUA does not ask credit unions members for such personal information. Anyone who receives an e-mail that purports to be from the NCUA and asks for account information should consider it to be a fraudulent attempt to obtain their personal account data for an illegal purpose and should not follow the instructions in the e-mail.

If you responded to such an e-mail and provided any confidential account information, please notify the Buffalo Metropolitan Federal Credit Union immediately of the scheme at (716) 847-6960 ext. 238.

If you feel that you have received a fraudulent phishing e-mail purportedly from the NCUA please forward the entire e-mail message to Phishing@ncua.gov.

Additionally, you can file formal complaints concerning any suspected fraudulent e-mail with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) at www.ic3.gov. The IFCC is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National White Collar Crime Center.

Check 21

As our member we think it's important for you to know about substitute checks. As a result, we want to advise you that you may begin to see differences when you receive your account statement, view you account information online or request a copy of your original check for proof of payment.