Beware of scam using Del Norte CU's name
SANTE FE, N.M. (8/29/07)--Recipients should not respond to bogus phone calls and e-mails purporting to be from the Santa Fe-based, $302 million asset Del Norte CU, advises the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (Albuquerque Journal Aug. 25).
The credit union and attorney general have verified that people in northern New Mexico have been getting phone calls asking them to respond to a toll-free number and furnish personal account information that includes credit and debit card numbers.
The toll-free number is a fraudulent phishing ploy, according to Karen Meyers, director of the state attorney general’s protection division.
An additional phishing scam is being conducted with e-mail asking people for their account information under the guise of coming from Del Norte CU, according to credit union officials.
At least 20 complaints have been received in the attorney general’s office, according to Meyers.
The credit union has worked with Qwest to get the toll-free number canceled, said Gus Lisella, Del Norte vice president of marketing. While the investigation into the matter is ongoing, credit union officials believe that the bogus phone number was set up in a foreign country, Lisella added.
Del Norte has set up an automated message that tells people not to provide account information to any calls offering a toll-free number.