Identity theft has become an unfortunate fact of life in our society, and as one might expect, financial institutions and their customers are natural targets. While Clearview on its own cannot directly prevent attempts at identity theft, we have always taken steps to protect our members and their assets from such activities.

From security on our network and home banking systems, to a process of educating our members of the dangers and necessary precautions, we provide a safe and secure environment for your financial experiences.

There are a number of identity theft schemes collectively known as “phishing,” that attempt to deceive you into revealing sensitive information. The methods used by phishers can vary, but a typical scenario would involve a member receiving a fraudulent e-mail made to look legitimate by using the financial institution’s graphics. The message may state that a discrepancy was found in your account, and you must click on the provided link to make changes. The link takes you to a site that has been created by the scammers to have the look and feel of the financial institution, but exists only to capture sensitive personal information.

If you are a Personal Credit Union (PCU Online Banking) user, they may direct you to a duplicate, fraudulent login site in an attempt to capture your user ID and password.

There are three important points that you should keep in mind:
• We will never solicit personal or private financial information from you via e-mail.
• Never click on a link to a Web site in a message that’s telling you that your account information is out of date, incomplete or erroneous.
• When you are logging into PCU, if you see an image or passphrase that you did not personally select, do not log in. Chances are that you are not on a legitimate site.

We realize that identity theft and online fraud are very complicated and sensitive issues. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1-800-926-0003.