Phishing Attempt – Northridge CommunityCredit Union
E-mails sent to members asking for account verification

New Identity Theft Information.
It has been brought to our attention that some individuals may have recently received fraudulent e-mails that appear to have come from Northridge CommunityCredit Union requesting private information. This newest form of identity fraud is called "phishing". To protect yourself and your account information, DO NOT respond to these emails or provide any personal information. Northridge CommunityCredit Union will never ask you to provide personal or account information over the Internet – any request for you to do so is fraudulent.

How Does Phishing Happen?
Phishing attempts are not compromises of Northridge CommunityCredit Union’s computer system. Northridge CommunityCredit Union has strategies in place to prevent this from happening. Those involved in the scam may have purchased your e-mail address from another party with hopes that you are a Northridge CommunityCredit Union member. Then you may receive an e-mail asking you to update Northridge CommunityCredit Union account information using an external link that is provided. The link redirects to a Web site that looks like Northridge CommunityCredit Union’s Web site. This fake Web site is an attempt to scam members into surrendering private information such as online banking passwords, credit card information, social security numbers, or member account numbers.

Please note that the only authorized Northridge CommunityCredit Union Web site is as follows:

If you are redirected to any other Web site, it is most likely a phishing attempt and is illegal.

What is Northridge CommunityCredit Union Doing to Help Me?
Be assured that Northridge CommunityCredit Union will never request that you respond to any type of e-mail communication that asks for personal information. If you receive an e-mail in question, protect your identity and please do not respond. You can be confident that we are aggressively pursuing all instances of identity theft in order to protect your interests and the security of your accounts.

Sample E-mail

Dear Northridge CommunityBank Customer,

This is your official notification from Northridge CommunityBank that the service(s) listed below
will be deactivated and deleted if not renewed immediately. Previous notifications have
been sent to the NetBranch Contact assigned to this account. As the Primary Contact, you
must renew the service(s) listed below or it will be deactivated and deleted. Renew Now

SERVICE : Northridge CommunityBank Online Banking.
EXPIRATION: March 16, 2006

Thank you,

Northridge CommunityCredit Union Bank Online Banking Support, N.A.

Please note: "Renew now" will take you to a new Web site that will ask you to verify account information. This Web site is not owned or operated by Northridge CommunityCredit Union, and you should not enter any account information.

Sample Web page

Members may receive an e-mail asking them to verify member numbers, address, passwords, debit and credit card on a similar Web page that looks like the Northridge CommunityCredit Union's online banking sign on page.

This Web site is not owned and operated by Northridge CommunityCredit Union. You will never be asked via e-mail to confirm your member number, password, address, or debit/credit card information. If you receive an e-mail asking you to verify account information, please contact Northridge CommunityCredit Union immediately.

After entering your member number and password, you will then be redirected to another Web site for further verification. Please do not respond. This isn't a Web site owned and operated by Northridge CommunityCredit Union. If you do enter in your account information, you will be redirected to the correct Northridge CommunityCredit Union Web site. You should only enter your account information from the Northridge CommunityCredit Union Web site only. If you receive e-mails asking for account verification, or have been redirected to our Web site from other sites other than Northridge CommunityCredit Union's Web site (www.nrccu.org), please call Northridge CommunityCredit Union immediately.