Don’t Get Hooked by a Phishing Scam

Protecting your personal information is very important to us. That’s why we wanted to give you some tips on how to protect yourself from phishing scams. Phishing is when someone sends an email to trick you into giving out personal information such as account details, credit card numbers or passwords.

If you get an email that looks suspicious or asks you for personal information, here are five tips to protect yourself:

1. Most phishing emails appear to come from a company, store, bank, group or government agency. They may even have a logo and seem to have a valid email address or website. However, if you take a closer look, you may notice that the spelling is wrong. For example, it may be spelled xyzc0mpany.com instead of xyzcompany.com.
2. If the email has an attachment, don’t open it. Files that end with .exe, .bat, .msi, .cmd, .scr, .zip, .pif and other extensions may be a virus and you shouldn’t open them.
3. Hover your mouse over the email link without clicking on it to see where it goes. This will show the true email address, which may be different than what it says in the email.
4. Don’t open links in an email. This includes an “unsubscribe” or “respond” link. Unsubscribing or responding to spam confirms your e-mail address, which means you may get even more spam or phishing emails.
5. Avoid giving out your email address. This includes filling out online forms for websites, chat rooms or news groups. Many spammers collect email addresses from these sites to send out emails.

What should you do if you’re a victim of a phishing scam?

Check your credit card and bank accounts for any signs of fraud. If the email said it’s from , let us know by calling Member Services at the number on your ID card.

You can get a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months by:

• Going to annualcreditreport.com.
• Calling 1-877-322-8228.
• Mailing a credit report request form (from annualcreditreport.com) to:
  Annual Credit Report Request Service
  P.O. Box 105281
  Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

How to place a credit freeze

You can also get a copy of your credit report or place a credit freeze by contacting one of the national credit reporting agencies. When you place a credit freeze, also known as a “credit lock,” access to your credit report is restricted. This makes it harder for identity thieves to open a credit card or other account in your name.

Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
1-800-685-1111
equifax.com
Credit freeze request: freeze.equifax.com/

Experian
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
experian.com
Credit freeze request: experian.com/freeze/center.html

TransUnion
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19016
1-800-888-4213
transunion.com
Credit freeze request: freeze.transunion.com