FBI Fraud Alert--Don't Get Ripped Off
Gift Card Scam Alert
Real Estate Loan Information - Scams
Urgent $50 Survey Phishing Scam

Gift Card Scam Alert

If you plan to give gift cards this season, purchasing American Express gift cards from the credit union may be your best bet. Not only can the cards be used at many stores, restaurants or even online -- it is also safer. If you do purchase a gift card from a retail store, make sure you purchase cards that have been behind the counter, under the control of a store clerk. Unfortunately, there have been scams reported recently involving gift cards that have not been stored in a secure location, which could cause the gift card to be useless and the loss could be unrecoverable. So why not play it safe and pick up an American Express gift card at any California Coast branch?

Real Estate Loan Information - Scams

If you've ever wondered where the information in those real estate loan solicitations you get in the mail comes from, here's the scoop. The fact that you have or had a real estate-secured loan, the lender, the loan amount and the loan date are all information in the county recorder's records, which are publicly available.

Companies or individuals use information from those public records to try to solicit business or sometimes just information from homeowners. They try to seem legitimate by stating or implying an affiliation with a trusted party, like the lender who holds your existing mortgage. Homeowners most often see their lien information being used in mail offers for refinancing, but there are telephone scams and sales pitches that use the same information.

Unfortunately, there is nothing lenders can do to restrict access to county title records.

It is always a good precaution to shred any solicitations of this type you receive in the mail, along with all of your other personal information.

If you receive a call that uses your mortgage information and you are not sure that it is a legitimate call from your financial institution, here are some things to keep in mind:

• As long as the information the caller has is limited to the fact that you have a real estate-secured loan, the lender, the loan amount and loan date, you can feel fairly comfortable that the party has only accessed the publicly available county recorder's information.
• Do not provide additional information to the caller.
• If you are interested in a service that is being offered, call the company back using a publicly available number rather than one that the caller provides. You can find a good callback number using the phone book, 411 or an internet search. Don't provide information until you have taken that precaution. If the caller is upset that you would like to end the call and call back, you are probably avoiding a scam.
• Do not rely on caller ID for assurance that you are talking to a legitimate caller. It can be manipulated.
• If the caller did have information beyond the four points of public record information mentioned above, which should rarely occur, consider what records of that additional information might exist, and notify the companies that have that information if you are concerned.
• California Coast Credit Union does not share information with any companies that might make the type of solicitations that this type of call involves.

Urgent $50 Survey Phishing Scam

April 20, 2007--Financial Service Centers Cooperative, Inc. has learned of an email circulating to the general public requesting personal member information by visiting a specific website and taking part in a survey for $50.00. The survey (link to PDF sample) contains the CU Swirl Logo and the CUSC Network; providing much of the "look and feel" of the organizations. Please be advised that this is not a valid request for information from CUSC or CU Service Centers and that members should never send sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, secret words, or PINs in an email or submit it through a website. In addition, members should never click directly on links in an email that requests sensitive information, even if they recognize and trust the address. As such links can redirect members to a fake -- though very real looking -- Web site. FSCC 800-509-1087