Security Essentials

Phishing

Phishing scams try to lure account holders into providing personal or financial information to scammers posing as legitimate businesses. These scams can be conducted by email, phone calls, text messages, or social media.

What You Can Do
Be wary of emails, messages, or phone calls that request your confidential information like your Social Security Number; account numbers; usernames & passwords; PINs, or any other personally identifiable information.

If an email looks suspicious or is from an unknown source, don’t provide any information, open any attachments or click on any links, even if the email threatens to close or suspend your account or states your account has been compromised. Opening attachments or clicking links could download spyware to your computer or mobile device.

What to Do If You Suspect You’re a Victim
If an email looks suspicious or is from an unknown source, don’t provide information, open attachments or click any links. If you suspect you’ve fallen victim to a phishing scam, follow these steps immediately:

• Ensure that your computer’s firewall, anti-virus, and spyware detection software is current.
• Run a virus scan on your computer and clean up any viruses or trojans that are detected.
• Change your online banking password and username from an uninfected computer.
• Change your mobile password or enable Touch ID.
• Call iTHINK Financial at 800.873.5100 to speak with us immediately.

Wire Transfers

Wire fraud is on the rise, with scammers typically using Phishing techniques to lure their targets. And once a wire has been sent, it’s not always possible to get your money back.

One popular method of this scam targets homebuyers as they enter the closing phase of their purchasing journey. Posing as a real estate agent or other legitimate contacts, the scammer requests a transfer of funds to cover the closing, titling, or other associated costs. Unfortunately, the transfer instructions route to the scammer's bank account, conning their target out of those funds.

Scammers aren’t solely focused on homebuyers, though. They have been known to spoof vendors, colleagues, and other known contacts to fool people into transferring money.

The very best way to protect yourself from a scam like this is to call your credit union/bank, realtor, or whoever supposedly sent the email directly to verify they made the request and that information like routing numbers are correct. Don’t use the phone numbers in the email, though; use numbers from your statements, contract, or other documents you know to be legitimate.

Beyond that, look for classic signs of phishing—like those below—that can tip-off that the request is fraudulent.

• Be cautious about any email requesting a wire transfer of funds—even if it appears to come from a legitimate source.
• Double-check the email address for anything suspicious; hover your mouse over the “From” address. If it’s something like rob@paypal.com or it’s from a general email address like Gmail or Yahoo, it’s likely from a scammer.
• Pay close attention to the body of the email for spelling errors or generally poor writing.

If you believe you may have responded to a phishing request, please call iTHINK Financial at 800.873.5100 to speak with us immediately.

Identity Theft

Identity theft can happen even if you’ve been very careful with your personal information. Below are some potential indicators of identity theft.

• Failing to receive bills or other mail.
• Receiving cards or billing statements on accounts for which you did not apply.
• Receiving calls from debt collectors or companies about merchandise or services you didn’t buy.
• You see withdrawals from your bank account that you can’t explain.
• Merchants refuse your checks.
• You find unfamiliar accounts on your credit report.
• The IRS notifies you that more than one tax return was filed in your name, or that you have income from an employer you don’t work for.
• You get notice that your information was compromised by a data breach at a company where you do business or have an account.

If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, follow these steps immediately:

• If you think fraud has already occurred, you can freeze your credit report. A security freeze prevents potential creditors from being able to pull your credit file. When your credit file is frozen, ID thieves will still be able to apply for credit in your name, but they will not be able to establish new lines of credit. You are also able to unfreeze your credit file anytime and freezing your credit will not affect your credit score.  Call each Credit Reporting Bureau separately to initiate a freeze; Experian, Equifax and Transunion.
• Make sure you have the most recent version of your firewall, antivirus and spyware detection software.
• Run a virus scan on your computer and remove any threats it detected.
• Change all your passwords from an uninfected device.
• Check your accounts frequently and report any unauthorized transactions to us as soon as you notice them.
• Call iTHINK Financial at 800.873.5100 to speak with us immediately.
• Visit www.identitytheft.gov for additional resources