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Identity Theft & Fraud Prevention


Washington Federal will never ask our customers to validate information such as Login IDs, passwords, or PINs via email. We ask that you never give out any personal information unless you initiated the contact.


Washington Federal employs multiple layers of security including Firewalls, Intrusion Detection, Content Filtering, Virus Protection, and a host of other security measures to ensure the safety of all information, and physical property. Washington Federal will never send unsolicited emails.


If You Suspect Identity Theft has Occurred
If you are concerned that someone has unauthorized access to your personal information, please call us immediately at 1.800.961.0055 so we can take steps to help protect you. You should also consider reporting your concerns to:


Identity Theft
Identity Theft (or identity fraud) is the unlawful use of your personally identifying information by criminals to commit fraud or other crimes. Personally identifying information includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, credit card numbers, or account information. Although the term identity theft is most commonly associated with credit card fraud, thieves also use personally identifying information to obtain loans, rent property, or drain bank accounts. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that as many as nine million Americans have their identities stolen each year. For more information from the FTC about identity theft, please visit their website.


How Identity Theft Occurs
Thieves use a variety of techniques for obtaining personally identifying information including; stealing mail or rummaging through rubbish (dumpster diving), stealing personal information in computer databases, infiltrating organizations that store large amounts of personal information, stealing wallets or purses, phishing, and pharming.


Phishing and Pharming
"Phishing" is a form of Internet fraud that aims to steal valuable information such as credit cards, social security numbers, Login IDs, and passwords. A fake website is created that is similar to that of a legitimate organization, typically a financial institution such as a bank or insurance company. An email is sent requesting that the recipient access the fake website (which will usually be a replica of a trusted site) and enter their personal details, including security access codes. The term "Phishing" comes from the analogy that internet scammers are using email bait to fish for passwords and financial data from the sea of internet users. Since hackers have a tendency of replacing "f" with "ph", the term phishing was derived. The term has evolved over the years to include not only obtaining user account details but access to all personal and financial data. The Anti-Phishing Act of 2005 is a bill introduced by US Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) to combat a type of identity theft known as phishing. The bill proposes a five-year prison sentence and/or fine for individuals who commit identity theft using falsified corporate websites or email messages.


"Pharming" is the exploitation of a vulnerability in the DNS server software that allows a hacker to acquire the Domain Name for a site, and to redirect traffic to that website to another web site. DNS servers are the machines responsible for resolving internet names into their real addresses - the "signposts" of the internet. When users type in a valid URL they are redirected to the criminals' websites instead of the intended valid website. Once the user is redirected to the fraudulent website, they will often become infected with Trojan Virus programs, worms, spyware, malware, or other virus technologies. Pharming is much more sophisticated than phishing.


Vishing
The term Vishing was coined by combining "voice" and phishing. Vishing exploits the public's trust in landline telephone services and caller ID systems. Vishing characteristics: Cardholders receive computer-generated calls claiming to be from their financial institution. The calls claim their accounts have been frozen and then direct the cardholder to call a toll-free number to leave their debit card information in order to reactivate any cards. (Most communications include something that will concern or excite the victim.) The toll-free number includes a recorded message that asks the customer to key their account number, card expiration date, and PIN. Vishing is very hard for legal authorities to monitor or trace. To protect themselves, consumers are advised to be highly suspicious when receiving messages directing them to call and provide credit card or bank numbers. Rather than provide any information, the consumer is advised to contact their bank or credit card company directly to verify the validity of the message.


Helpful Tips to Protect Yourself from Fraud and Identity Theft


For more information about protecting yourself from identity theft and fraud, please visit this useful link from the FDIC: Don't Be An Online Victim.