Recent Data Breach

Recently news has come out about a massive data breach via National Public Database, a company that provides background checks and credit reports for employers and property managers nationwide. In a class-action lawsuit filed in Florida, it’s believed that upwards of three billion records may have been accessed. Click here to read more. 

Whether linked to this nationwide breach or not, we have been made aware of members receiving fraudulent phone calls from individuals claiming to be from The Southern. When this happens, the phone number the scammers are calling from is “spoofed,” meaning it might appear to be a legitimate Southern contact number but is fake. The caller tells the member that there has been a specific, fraudulent charge on the member's account and asks the member to confirm his or her identity.

These thieves are prepared, careful, and cunning; you may not be able to tell if the phone call coming to you is spoofed and not from the Credit Union. Be on your guard and extremely careful about responding to any request for personal information from a caller that cannot be verified. Following are tips from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Protect yourself from fraudulent callers:

1. Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, and it seems suspicious, hang up immediately.
2. If you answer the phone and the caller—or an automated recording—asks you to push a phone
   button to stop getting the calls, don’t respond, just hang up.
3. Do not answer texts from unknown numbers. Do not click any links in the text and delete the text.
4. Do not download any phone (or tablet) apps or computer software of any kind offered by a caller or texter regardless of the reason given why it is necessary—do not do it.
5. Do not pay over the phone to any unknown caller. The Southern Credit Union will never ask you to provide any sort of payment or payment information, including account details, or request that you participate in a bogus “test” to prove your account payments are working.
6. Do not respond to any questions, over the phone or via text, especially those that can be answered with "Yes" or "No."
7. Never give out personal information such as one-time-passcodes, account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother's maiden names, passwords, account numbers, PIN numbers, home addresses, email addresses or other identifying information to unexpected callers unless you can verify their identity.
8. If you get a call from someone who says they represent The Southern Credit Union or a government agency, hang up and call the Credit Union or the government agency to verify the authenticity of the request.
9. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate company or the government, particularly if the caller is asking for any form of payment.
10. Use extreme caution if you are being pressured for information immediately—nothing is so urgent that it can't wait for you to hang up and call to verify.
11. Set a password for your voicemail account with your home or cellular phone service. Some voicemail services automatically allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A scammer could spoof your phone number and then access your voicemail if the account is not protected by a password.
12. Talk to your phone service company about call blocking tools and options. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allows phone companies to block automated robocalls by default. More information about robocall and text blocking is available at the FCC’s website.
13. Remember to check your voicemail regularly to make sure you aren't missing legitimate calls and to clear out any spam calls.
14. If someone tries to get personal financial or other information from you, hang up immediately and contact our Member Service Center at 770.719.1111.

Again, if a caller sounds the least bit suspicious and you're ever in doubt, hang up and call our Member Service Center at 770.719.1111 to verify the request. For more information, visit the Federal Communications Commission's site on Caller ID Spoofing. If you've received a call from a scammer, with or without fake caller ID information, report it to the FTC and the FCC. If you think someone may now have some of your sensitive, personal information, go to IdentityTheft.gov  to report identity theft and find out what to do next to protect yourself.