Criminals have recently increased their efforts to steal the identities of various targeted groups, including many financial institutions, through a process called SMiShing. SMiShing is a phishing attack sent by text messages to mobile phones and handheld devices. An individual posing as a representative from your financial institution asks you to provide them with personal information like account numbers, social security numbers and other information that can be used to steal your identity.

The message is frequently marked as being URGENT and appears to look valid.

One example of a local scam reads as follows: “Credit Union Alert: Your CARD has been DEACTIVATED. Please contact us at 360-635-0106 to REACTIVATE your CARD“

After calling the 360 area code number, victims are instructed to enter your 16 digit debit card number. One hint that the text message is a scam is the telephone number. USAgencies telephone numbers are 503-275-0300 or 800-452-0915. Some of these text messages are being received after regular business hours.

At USAgencies, we will never solicit your account number via text messaging or e-mail. In general, when we contact you, we will NOT verify your identity by asking you to provide your debit card number or credit card number. However, when you call the Credit Union, to protect your identity, we may ask you for personal information, to help identify that we are speaking to the correct person.

Here are some tips to avoid getting caught by this scam:

• Never respond to unsolicited e-mails or text messages, especially those that ask for secure information. Be especially cautious with solicitations coming from people or companies that you do not have a relationship with or regarding services you have not contracted for.

• Remember, for privacy and security, financial institutions do not arbitrarily solicit non-public information from you. If you receive a suspicious text message, please give us a call at (503) 275-0300 to report the incident, or you can report the activity to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov

Now is the time to learn how convenient it is to pay your bills on-line.  Save time, money and hassles with USAgencies Free Bill Pay program. 

I'm sure you've enjoyed the convenience and time saving features brought to you by PC Branch, our on-line credit union branch.  Now you can expand those features by adding our Bill Pay option.  With Bill Pay, you can pay all your bills on-line; including the paper boy, baby sitter, or neighbor. 

For complete information on how USAgencies Bill Pay can make your life easier, click on the Bill Pay FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) link under the PC Branch Tab showing at the top of this page. 

To sign up for our free Bill Pay service, just log into PC Branch, and click on the Pay Bills button at the top of the page. 

For even greater convenience, combine Bill Pay with our Electronic Statements option. Information on e-Statements can be found by using the e-statement FAQ link, which is also located under the PC Branch Tab above.  With e-statements, your private account information stays out of your mail box.  You view your statements on-line by accessing a secure server- we don't send them to you via e-mail, so you can rest assured that your confidential information is secured.