Two phish sites spoofing CSS no longer in play

MADISON, Wis. (8/8/08)--The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) has shut down two websites that purported to offer a new service through CUNA Strategic Services. The sites were promoted in a phishing e-mail that aimed to gather information for possible identity theft.

Both sites were closed Thursday morning, said Kevin Knope, director of Web Services. More than 100 recipients received the e-mail phishing message and the response rate was high, he said. CUNA has issued a fraud alert.

"This phish has a new twist in that it's the first phish to use the look of CUNA Strategic Services' website," Knope told News Now.

The phishing e-mail targeted AOL users and came from domestic internet service providers in Texas and Georgia, said Knope.

The phish noted that "Credit Union National Association is one of the largest credit union groups in America. In partnership with state credit union leagues, CUNA provides many services to credit unions, including representation, information, public relations, continuing professional education, and business development."

It claimed the newest service added at CUNA on Aug. 1 is "Your Credit Union Rewards You," for credit union members. "Daily 10 random credit union account holders are e-mailed to take the 300$ reward. Completing the application forms on our website takes only 5 minutes," the fake site says.

Neither CUNA nor CUNA Strategic Services offers such a program. CUNA warned recipients not to respond to the sites.

CUNA does not maintain any type of customer/member financial information. No financial institution would request personal identification information over the phone via an e-mail solicitation.

"If you did respond to this e-mail, you should contact your financial institution directly using the phone number provided by that institution," said CUNA.

courtesy of cuna.org