Navy Federal Credit Union says 'vishing' scams on the rise in Pensacola. What are they?
Navy Federal Credit Union is reporting an increase in "vishing" scams in the Pensacola area involving fraudsters impersonating member service representatives.
Callers will pressure victims into providing personal, account and financial information such as card numbers, passcodes, codewords and account summaries.
NFCU is urging customers to be aware of this scam and to reach out to the credit union directly with any questions or concerns regarding their accounts.
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"We continue to see an increase in impersonation scams in the Pensacola area," Chip Kohlweiler, senior vice president of security at Navy Federal Credit Union, said in a statement. "Recently, fraudsters are known to spoof and call from unknown numbers impersonating Navy Federal member service representatives to trick you into picking up and believing the call is real."
The main uptick is in the Pensacola area, however NFCU officials have also seen this scam occurring throughout the financial industry in the United States.
Vishing is a twist on "phishing" schemes, where scammers send fraudulent emails posing as trusted business, institutions and acquaintances in hopes of getting people to disclose personal or financial information.
The FBI reports that as far back as 2007, fraudsters were running similar scams using Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, which enables telephone calls over the web.
Vishing scams are popular because VoIP service is fairly inexpensive, especially for long distance, making it cheap to make fake calls, according to the FBI. And because it’s web-based, criminals can use software programs to create phony automated customer service lines with a series of voice-prompted menus that ask for account numbers, passwords and other critical information.
Regarding the fake NCFU calls, Kohlweiler said, "If the call does not seem legitimate, hang up and call the number on the back of your card or statement to speak to a representative and remember to always be vigilant if intending to answer an unknown caller.”
To learn more about Navy Federal Credit Union's security recommendations , visit navyfederal.org/services/security.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola area Navy Federal Credit Union members targeted for vishing
