Keesler FCU hit by cell phone text scam

BILOXI, Miss. (2/27/08)--A cell phone text-message scam was targeted against Keesler FCU on Saturday, the credit union announced Tuesday.

The cell phone text messages and faxes were broadcast to members and nonmembers in an attempt to get credit, debit or ATM card information, the Biloxi, Miss.-based credit union said.

The messages appeared to come from the $1.5 billion credit union and requested that the recipient respond to the communication with the card number, personal identification number or other personal information.

Keesler recently was also a victim of another e-mail phishing scam, according to Sharon Seanor, vice president of marketing at the credit union.

"These fraudulent attempts were very sophisticated. They attempted to create a sense or urgency or panic, so that the recipient would be tricked to respond. For example, in this case, the scammers indicated that the recipient's bill service had expired," Seanor said.

The credit union immediately posted a warning on its website and notified a local television station, which aired a story about the scam.

The credit union said it would continue to educate members about how to avoid falling victim to fraudulent activity. "We will never initiate any communication to obtain account information, since we already have that information on file," said the release.

courtesy of cuna.org