Phishing is the attempt by fraudsters to trick you into handing over personal information such as your credit union details, usernames, or passwords via email, by pretending to be from a trustworthy source such as your Credit Union. The information they gain can then be used to access your account, current account or debit cards.

Vishing (a combination of the words Voice and Phishing) is a phone scam where fraudsters target you by phone and try to trick you into divulging personal, financial or security information or into making a financial transfer to them.

A fraudster can phone you, claiming to be from a bank, Credit Union, the Gardaí/Police or a service provider such as a telephone company, internet provider or computer company. They trick you into believing they are a legitimate representative of the organisation and that it is in your interest to give the information they ask for.

Smishing (a combination of the words SMS (text message) and Phishing) is a scam where fraudsters send text messages to random mobile phones.  The text messages claim to come from a reputable organisation such as a bank, credit union or a service provider e.g. a mobile phone company.

The message will typically ask you to click on a link to a website or to call a phone number in order to “verify”, “update” or to “reactivate” your account. The website link leads to a bogus website and the phone number leads to a fraudster pretending to be the legitimate company. The criminal attempts to get you to disclose personal, financial or security information, which will then be used to steal your money.

A money mule is a person recruited by criminals to help in transferring stolen or fraudulently obtained money from bank accounts. Money muling equals money laundering.

Criminals pose as employers and dupe targets into laundering money on their behalf. They contact prospective victims with a “job vacancy” advert online, on job search websites or in newspapers. These jobs are usually advertised as “Financial Manager” or “Payments Clerk” with no requirement other than having a bank account. The mule accepts the “job” and in doing so becomes involved in money laundering, which is a criminal activity.

While most financial fraud still happens via phone, texts and emails, fraudsters are also utilising technology and publicly available information to deceive people. As a valued member of our Credit Union, we are providing you with this guide to help you become more aware of these types of fraud threats.