The Phishing Hook
You've probably heard of phishing. With this tactic, online thieves send out emails claiming your account is about to be closed or they are investigating a security problem and asking you to link to a Web site. There, they request personal and/or financial information, such as Social Security and account numbers or PINs. Because the sites often look similar to legitimate ones, many consumers are fooled into entering their information.

Vishing ("voice phishing") is a twist on phishing scams that takes advantage of inexpensive VoIP (Voice-over Internet Protocol) phone services. Vishing
  scammers set up phone numbers
    through these services and leave
       e-mail or phone messages claiming
        to be from a financial institution or
           government agency and asking
            individuals to call a telephone
            number. When consumers call the
            number, they hear a fraudulent
      automated voice system instructing
    them to enter account information. Tip: Never respond to these requests. Neither Justice FCU nor any other legitimate organization would ask for this information in an e-mail or voice message.

Beware of "Refund Fever"
Everybody wants a tax refund, and the sooner the better. But the IRS reports that scam artists are sending e-mails from sites with names like "tax-refunds@irs.gov" or "admin@irs.gov," telling recipients that they are eligible to receive a tax refund. The emails direct recipients to link to a Web site to claim the refund. The phony site looks similar to the IRS site, but requests personal and financial information that the legitimate interactive IRS site does not. If you're expecting a refund, you may be tempted

to respond, but don't be fooled. Tip: To get your refund as quickly as possible, file electronically through TurboTaxR and have your money deposited directly into your Justice FCU checking or savings account. A link to TurboTax can be found at jfcu.org. Look for the "Member Support" tab on our home page. Scroll down to "Resources" and click on "Turbo Tax."

Doing Justice to Your Online Security
Justice FCU goes to great lengths to protect the integrity of your personal information. For example, our MemberLink home banking system requires unique login names and passwords and encrypts information so that only the credit union's servers can decode it.

To make your online banking experience even more secure, we've recently launched Identity Verification. This security feature watches for uncharacteristic or unusual behavior involving your account. Most of the time, you won't even notice the security system is active. However, if the system notes anything out of the ordinary or you log in from an unfamiliar computer, you may be asked to verify your identity by giving answers to security questions known only to you. This small extra step is well worth the additional security it provides.

Keep Sticky Fingers Off Your Accounts
Justice Federal Credit Union is committed to protecting your accounts from fraudulent access. But keeping your financial and personal information secure and preventing identity theft requires vigilance on your part as well. A little common sense may help keep you from becoming an online scam victim.