Email Data Breach - Epsilon

A data breach at third-party marketer Epsilon has exposed the email addresses and names of customers at major credit card issuers and national retailers. Members of North Alabama Educators Credit Union should know that we were not involved in the email data breach and have no vendor connection to Epsilon.

There is a genuine concern that an increase in phishing attacks, or fake emails, will occur with the intent of stealing personal information from consumers. The normal phishing attempt is to try a shotgun approach and hope to hit on a victim who actually is a client of the business in the fake email. With this email data breach however, the scammers will know exactly what companies the victim does business with. The email data breach greatly increases the odds of fooling consumers into thinking that they are communicating with a company that they are familiar with, when in reality they are not. The breach can also increase the odds of spreading computer viruses and spyware when victims click on embedded links in the fake emails.

Consumers should NEVER respond to an unsolicited email, telephone call, cell phone text, or mail request for personal information. If you have questions over a request received, please contact the company involved at a published telephone number to verify the request. Also do NOT click on links or open videos from emails from trusted sources unless you are 100% certain of the source of the email. Maintaining a good anti-virus program on your computer is an absolute requirement these days.

Be careful out there - things are not always what they appear to be!