Text message scam hits Oregon Community Credit Union

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Story Published: Apr 19, 2008 at 5:21 PM PST

By Molly Blancett

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NORTH EUGENE - Sara Mathews says she feels pretty foolish right now.

"I should have known better," says Matthews.

She just fell victim to a scam that's targeting Oregon Community Credit Union Members. The scam is a text message that comes right to your cell phone.

The test says your account has been closed due to unusual activity and for you to call a Florida phone number.

"I called and it asked me for my credit card number and my expiration date," says Mathews. "And then it asked for my pin and as soon as I put in the last number of my pin, I thought, 'Oh God."

That's because with that information, thieves could potentially wipe out her checking account.
And, Mathews isn't alone.

The credit union says they've received thousands of calls from worried people.

"It's been very busy," says Branch Representative, Tom Catherwood.

And, they're not just members. Eugene Police say OCCU is the largest credit union in the area. And the scammers probably sent the text to a whole list of Oregon phone numbers, hoping to get as many members as they could.

So what should you do if you receive a text message? Absolutely nothing.

"Don't respond," says OCCU Public Relations Coordinator. "Do not reply to a text message. Do not follow any of the directions on the text message because Oregon Community Credit Union will never contact a member in that way."

Sara Mathews was lucky. She contacted the credit union before the scammers could do anything. Eugene Police tell me they aren't sure where the scam started. But, they doubt there was a security breach at the credit union.

This isn't the first time OCCU has fallen victim to a phishing scam. A year ago, thieves sent out e-mails to credit union members asking for personal information. Kistner says she doesn't think the scams are connected.

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