We are aware of a phone/text scam that is currently targeting many local financial institutions, including UMassFive members. These scammers are masking their phone numbers to appear as if they are calling from our public phone number, identifying themselves as UMassFive representatives and asking you for your banking information (such as card numbers, online banking credentials, pin numbers, and/or account numbers), or requesting you answer yes to a fraudulent text message.
Have you heard of Smishing?
Smishing and Vishing are the latest schemes being used by scammers to deceive cardholders into revealing critical information, and to disregard legitimate fraud warnings.
Smishing: The fraudulent practice of sending text messages claiming to be from reputable companies to encourage individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers.
Vishing: The fraudulent practice of making phone calls or leaving voice messages claiming to be from reputable companies encouraging individuals to reveal personal information, such as bank details and credit card numbers.
Here's the important part: With both of these tactics, cardholders may be sent a voice or text message with transaction details requesting the cardholders to confirm legitimacy. When they respond, they may be questioned for account details, or they may be asked to call back a number to provide account information—leading unsuspecting cardholders to give the scammers the information they need to actually attempt fraudulent transactions. In some instances, the technology is advanced enough that they are sent a one-time passcode (OTP). The caller or text message then instructs the cardholder to reply “No Fraud” to text/voice messages to ensure that when their fraudulent transactions are caught by our real fraud protection services, they are approved as legitimate by the victim.
So how can you be certain that a fraud alert is real? Remember, we have your account information, and outside of questions to verify your identity–we’ll never ask for sensitive account details. The easiest solution is to turn off your card in Online or Mobile Banking to prevent any unauthorized transactions, and call us directly at 800-852-5886 if a text or call seems phishy.
Please note we will never call you to ask for your banking information, or call to ask you to answer yes to a text message. (Especially if it is for a transaction that you did not complete.)
If you inadvertently provided a caller with any of your UMassFive banking information, or responded by answering yes to a fraudulent text message, please monitor your accounts online and notify us so we can close or block the accounts affected to prevent actual fraudulent transactions.