Scam Warning

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Many of us seem to be receiving numerous offers by mail or telephone that seem way too good to be true. For those of you in this category, here is some advice:

1. Nigerian Scams: It matters little what the ex-Treasurer of Nigeria says. You are not destined to become the recipient of international oil revenue. The closest you'll get to oil money is pumping gas at a Speedway station.
2. Rich Relatives: There's no long lost relative who recently died in a car accident. People don't forget about rich relatives. Instead, they go live with them.
3. Canadian Lottery: Sorry, but you did not win the Canadian International Lottery! We can say this with absolute conviction because after a thorough investigation, we find that you actually need to purchase a ticket to win. But the real crime is thinking that the company that contacted you was willing to pay you for processing fees. Of course after you wire the same amount of money to them, you quickly learn that the cashiers check was counterfeit and nobody showed up at your front door with your winnings on Tuesday. All checks that are suspicious will require a 10-day hold.
4. Investments: The great investment tip that you just received in your e-mail is not going to double in value in mere weeks. Remember, risk and returns are closely linked, just like con artists and their victims.
5. Account Compromised: These types of scare tactics are commonly used by scammers. The more urgent the request, the more likely it is to be a scam.
6. Help in Obtaining Money: Poor and broken English should be a major alert that something is not right with this. More than likely, the scam has originated in a foreign country.
7. Email Requests: Family First Credit Union is not in the practice of emailing you requests for your Social Security number, account information, and password. That's because we already know them.
8. Phishing: This is a false email in which the sender asks for the recipient to click on a link to verify their credit union information. If you click on the link, you are redirected to a false website and are asked for your credit union account and password information. Remember - when signing on to NetBranch, make sure you see your secret phrase and picture. If you do not see these two things….DO NOT continue with your log in.

So, please be careful the next time you receive a telephone call or letter telling you how rich you are about to become. Chances are; you are just being targeted by the latest "get rich quick" scam of the month.