Members Warned About Spoofing Calls

Members Have Received Spoofed Calls Appearing to be from Downeast Phone Lines

Recently, we have heard from Downeast members who have received calls appearing to be from Downeast Credit Union on their caller ID. Luckily the members recognized some red flags and did not give out the credit card or personal information that the fraudsters were asking for. One call came in at 1:00am which is outside of our business hours, and another member was being asked for his credit card number when he did not have a credit card with our organization. We are glad these members were not scammed by the spoofing and want to remind all of our members the importance of remaining vigilant.

What Is Spoofing?
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines spoofing as when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity.

You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be extremely careful about responding to any request for personal identifying information.

■ If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.

■ Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.

Learn more about Spoofing by watching this FCC video: Don’t Hang On, Hang Up!