Winning notifications sent by standard mail contain counterfeit checks and money orders.

More and more scams are being mailed stating that you have won the lottery, along with a check or money order, which is supposed to be for processing fees. These are counterfeit checks or stolen/forged/counterfeit money orders. Legitimate lotteries, free lotteries (also known as Sweepstakes) never, NEVER ask for money. There is nothing true about the winning notification letter. It is a scam and the checks are counterfeit. So, if you receive one of the letters stating that "You have Just won the lottery", DO NOT DEPOSIT THAT CHECK!

THE BEST DEFENSE AGAINST FRAUD IS AWARENESS!

"Phishing" has become a very common type of fraud. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself from this type of identity theft.

In a phishing scam, a con artist sends you an e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate organization – perhaps a bank, a retailer, a government agency, or even Entertainment Industries FCU. The e-mail will ask you to provide personal information, probably through a very official-looking web site linked in the e-mail. The information requested may include passwords, account numbers, your Social Security number, or credit card numbers.

The e-mail may threaten dire consequences if you don’t provide the information requested, anything from the closing of an account to steep fees. It may even tell you the information is needed to protect your account from fraud! Don’t be fooled. If you do provide the information requested, your identity will be stolen.

Never respond to these types of e-mails. Entertainment Industries FCU does not request sensitive information via e-mail. No legitimate organization does. If you receive an e-mail that asks for personal information and you think it might be real, call the organization that allegedly sent it. Be sure to use a phone number from your files, not one contained in the e-mail.

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