fraud – The Wonderful World Of Wauna

Did You Get a 1099-G?

A sad truth is, those who are looking to take advantage of people, or scam the system, will use all tools at their disposal, regardless of how much it hurts others. One of the ways people have been cheating the system since the pandemic started is unemployment fraud. For those who don’t remember our blog post from last May, unemployment fraud is when a scammer uses somebody else’s identity and falsely claims unemployment insurance. In many ways it’s the perfect crime. The government will usually make the first couple of payments before the claim is disputed, and the victim happily has their job, and doesn’t even know somebody has claimed to be them until it’s too late.

How late is too late? For many it’s when they receive a 1099-G and file their taxes. Unemployment income is income, and the IRS expects its cut. So what to do if there’s a 1099-G in your name when there shouldn’t be? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued guidance for taxpayers who receive Forms 1099-G for unemployment benefits they did not actually get because of identity theft.

Taxpayers who receive an incorrect Form 1099-G for unemployment benefits they did not receive should contact the issuing state agency to request a revised Form 1099-G showing they did not receive these benefits. Taxpayers who are unable to obtain a timely, corrected form from states should still file an accurate tax return, reporting only the income they received. A corrected Form 1099-G showing zero unemployment benefits in cases of identity theft will help taxpayers avoid being hit with an unexpected federal tax bill for unreported income.

The IRS previously issued guidance requested by states on identity theft guidance regarding unemployment compensation reporting. No Forms 1099-G should be issued to those individuals the states have identified as ID theft victims.

Identity Theft: A Survivor’s Guide

Identity theft is a crime with many faces: from the thief who your skims your card info at the ATM, to the hacker who assumes your persona and opens accounts in your name.

Today is Data Privacy Day. And though most if not all of us will experience identity theft, we are all able to survive it.

Unfortunately, rectifying identity theft damage can be like untangling a wet knot. You can do it but it will require patience and perseverance. There is hope!

Start by committing yourself to becoming and remaining organized. Keep copies of letters and emails. It doesn’t hurt to maintain a verbal correspondence and/or other logs. File paperwork immediately and store everything in a safe, accessible place.

Step One: Creditors and Financial Institutions

If accounts are abused or opened illegally, contact your creditors ASAP. Ask for fraudulent transaction documentation as you’ll likely need to file a police report. Add “non-guessable” passwords to replacement cards and all existing accounts.

If a collection agency attempts to collect on a fraudulent account, explain (in writing) that you are a victim of identity theft and not responsible for the debt. Ask they confirm in writing that you do not owe and that the account has been closed.

For checking account fraud, contact your financial institution to place stop payments on any outstanding checks that you did not write. Report the crime to check reporting agencies. If the fraud is extreme, consider canceling your checking and savings accounts. Obtain new account numbers and passwords. Monitor all future account statements carefully.

Step Two: Legal and Government Agencies

Report the crime. File a report with your local police or sheriff’s department (or wherever the identity theft took place). Request a copy of the report. Additionally, keep the phone number of your investigator handy.

Create an Identity Theft Report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This is the combination of the Identity Theft Affidavit. You’ll file this with the FTC, and the police report. For additional documentation you may pursue a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigation.

Notify your local postal inspector if someone else has used your address. The social security administration should be alerted if your social security number has been fraudulently used.

Step Three: Credit Reporting Bureaus

The most arduous task in this process may be ensuring that your credit report lists only factual information. Obtain your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus (if you are married, your spouse should also check their report).

If the fraudulent information hasn’t yet appeared on your credit reports, be proactive. Report the crime now. Contact one of the bureau’s fraud departments to request an extended fraud alert be added to your file for seven years rather than the normal 90-180 days. Confirm that the bureau you’ve filed the fraud alert with will contact the other two bureaus and to place the fraud alerts.

Write a victim’s report. This is a brief statement describing the details of the crime. Send your report to the bureaus. The first credit reports with fraud alerts are free and are sent automatically. Next, check your credit report every three months to ensure accuracy.

Healing the wounds of identity theft will take time and work. The sooner and more aggressively you deal with the problem, the faster you will see results. Remember, Wauna Credit Union is also a fantastic resource and we are here for you!

What does a fraudulent email look like?

There’s spam, phishing, skimming, advanced fee, 419 Fraud, redemption fraud, and so much more. It can seem overwhelming to stay on top of. Wauna Credit Union does a lot behind the scenes to help make our financial platforms as secure as possible with technology like VISA 3-D Secure, and two-factor authentication, as well as continual staff education and awareness. We’ve provided tips on how to help keep your information, and your money, safe, but we’re always looking for new opportunities to help.

Recently we were alerted to a series of threatening emails one of our members received claiming to be from WCU. Luckily the member contacted a branch before providing information. We want to provide you a glimpse at what one of these scams actually looks like.

As you can see, the scammer did everything they could to get the member to make a quick decision. The top thing you can do when faced with any request for information, is to contact the credit union, either by calling our Virtual Branch at 1-800-773-3236, contacting us via our online chat or by visiting the nearest branch. If there’s an issue with your account, the person you contact will know about it, and be able to help.

scam email to member — A series of emails a member recently received

What to Look For

Non-standard from addresses; Anything that comes from the credit union will come from waunafcu.org. You can see this email actually comes from a Gmail account. Sometimes scammers will get tricky and try to spoof company’s names, for example waumafcu.org or waunafuc.org. Other times the company name is correct, but the actual domain, that’s the part after the @ symbol, is misleading, for example waunafcu.creditunion.org.
Threats; The scammer in this example relied heavily on the fear of going to jail. Wauna Credit Union will never threaten you. Our job is to help you, especially if you’ve fallen behind in your payments. In general, most reputable companies will always be respectful of you as a person, and threats of jail time are completely unfounded.
Overly long and changing subject lines; Scammers don’t want you thinking about what they say, and that includes doing everything to get you to avoid opening the email.
Grammar and punctuation errors; This series of emails is full of them. From not capitalizing the ‘c’ in Wauna Credit Union, to improper verb and noun agreement and simple misspellings, you can tell that our member was one of 100 the scammer was trying to fool.
Rushing you into action; Some of these emails came a minute or two after the previous one. The scammer claimed an initial payment must be made within days. All these actions were done to keep the member from evaluating what was actually happening.

Hopefully, seeing one of these scams in action will help you better recognize one if it comes your way.

Fraudsters and skimmers, oh my!

Related image Skimmers are sneaky little devices, which fraudsters affix to ATMs or other machines that accept credit or debit card transactions. The skimmer then secretly swipes your card information whenever you slip your card into the affected machine. These pesky gadgets have been around for years. But thieves are continually improving them and their usage doesn’t seem to stop!

Recently, a credit union in Washington reported an increase in card fraud because of a skimmer thought to be located at a nearby gas station. Wauna Credit Union can take steps to prevent and detect skimmers placed on our own ATMs and ITMs. But it is impossible for us to protect all of our members from skimmers elsewhere.

However, we won’t let you face the skimmers of the world unarmed. So, here are some tips and tricks on how you can take extra precaution when using your card at an ATM or other machine and avoid these irksome skimming devices:

When you can, use ATMs, ITMs, and gas pumps that are familiar. The more routine the visit to the machine is, the more likely someone has been checking regularly to detect potential issues.
Look for evidence of tampering! For example, some gas pumps will place a security seal over the portion of the gas pump that controls the card reader. A broken seal a strong indication that the card reader has been tampered with.
Is the gas station unfamiliar to you? try comparing the card reader at your pump with card readers at other pumps. If there is a discrepancy, pay inside, use a different pump, or find a different gas station. An extra minute or two could save you a huge headache.
When possible, run the transaction as a credit transaction instead of a PIN transaction.
If using an ATM that is located inside of a convenience or grocery store, look for evidence of tampering. Ways to detect a skimmer include lightly pulling on the card reader and pin pad to ensure neither easily detach from the machine and by paying attention to colors and graphics on the machine that appear to be different than what should be expected.
Pay attention to anyone who appears to be loitering or otherwise hanging around a machine with no visible purpose. If this is the case, use a different machine. Report the suspicious person to the business. Always ensure you are covering the PIN pad when typing in your PIN number.
Regularly monitor credit card and account statements and look for discrepancies. By keeping an eye on your statements and creating alerts in online banking for unusual activity, you proactively fighting fraud. Contact us right away if something seems out of the ordinary.

Making sure that you are aware of how to detect skimming devices can go a long way towards keeping you and your finances safe.