Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a website where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and account numbers that the legitimate organization already has. The website, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.

The credit union never requests personal information like phone numbers, credit card numbers, passwords, or social security numbers via email. If you receive an email and question its authenticity, please call us at 781-423-2022 to verify. Our website includes updates on various types of scams and frauds, please visit our fraud page for updated information.

Vishing is the telephone equivalent of phishing. Vishing is the act of using the telephone in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The scammer usually pretends to be a legitimate business, and fools the victim into thinking he or she will profit.

The credit union never makes outbound phone calls to request your personal information. If you receive a phone call and question its authenticity, please hang up and call us at 781-423-2022 to verify. Our website includes updates on various types of scams and frauds, please visit our fraud page for updated information.

If you feel you have been a victim of identity theft, contact the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline toll-free at 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); by mail: Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580; or online.

If you feel that your accounts with MIT FCU have been impacted by identity theft, please also call us at 781-423-2022.

If your wallet has been lost or stolen, take the following actions:

• Call the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax: 1-800-525-6285, Experian: 1-888-397-3742 and Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289) and ask them to immediately place a Fraud Alert on your name and Social Security number. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.
• Notify the SSN national fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271.
• Cancel your credit cards and debit cards.
• For MIT FCU debit cards, call 833-337-6075, as well as our Call Center at 781-423-2022.
• For MIT credit cards with Elan, call 800-558-3424, or for International members call 701-461-1556.
• File a police report the same day, if at all possible, in the jurisdiction where your wallet was stolen.