UNFCU has been notified of a phishing scam targeting financial institutions, including credit unions, in the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions. Members have been receiving calls and text messages urging them to reactivate "blocked" ATM or debit cards by sharing personal information.

When you receive the call, it appears to be from 1 843 884-6884, +1 347 999-304 or some other unidentified telephone number. The fraudster is spoofing that number, which means the call appears to be originating from the number that appears on your caller ID. However, it is not.

How did the fraudster get your number? This is called "war dialing." The fraudster starts with a local area code and a local exchange, then, randomly generates the last four digits to create a telephone number to call or text.