"FAKE CREDIT UNION" AS IN NWI TIMES

31 March 2009 12:30 p.m. Eastern
Kristy Robb

A print advertisement ran in yesterday's (March 29) Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper that portrayed a credit union loan product. Upon further investigation, it seems that the credit union named in the ad does not exist and the ad is an attempt to collect consumers' personal information.

The call to action in the ad from 'Firststar Credit Union" is for readers to visit a Web site or to call a toll–free phone number. The toll-free phone number goes to an endpoint that seems to be a call center–the operators are quick to ask for callers' personal information for use on a loan application and they are just as quick to drop the call when questioned about the nature of their business or details about their credit union. When asked, the operators say their office is in York, Pennsylvania. However, there is no credit union in the United States operating with this name.

These tough economic times can make us more vulnerable to ads and scams like this one. Please verify any financial institution you are working with. A chartered credit union will display the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) logo prominently on their Web site. And remember, a legitimate financial institution will not ask you to reveal personal financial or other information by phone or e-mail.