By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
The Yolo County District Attorney's Office is cautioning residents to be wary of cell-phone text messages purporting to be from the Yolo Federal Credit Union.
In the past few days, residents have received a rash of fake messages, according to a news release from the DA's office.
The message states that there is a problem with "Your YOLO FCU CARD starting with 4661." The message continues, "Your card has been placed on hold and you should call the number provided."
The scam message can be sent to thousands of people by crooks pretending to be legitimate businesses, such as banks and credit card providers, the release states.
The goal is to lure people into providing personal information like bank or credit card numbers. The scammers try to appeal to the victims' emotions so that they will quickly call back and provide sensitive and private information that will be used for future identity theft crimes, according the release.
Numerous Yolo County residents have contacted the DA's office to report the text messages. Several realized the message was a scam just before providing their account numbers.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig advises people never to respond to unsolicited requests for personal information without independently verifying with the bank or credit card company that the requests are legitimate
Yolo Federal Credit Union officials expressed their concern and offered assistance.
"Our members can rest assured the Yolo FCU stands ready to assist its members and that no data or personal information has been compromised," Jenee Rawlings, the credit union's vice president, said in the news release.
To help citizens protect themselves from becoming the victims of scams, the Yolo County District Attorney's Office, along with several other agencies, will hold a Fraud Fair from 2 to 6 p.m. July 8 at West Sacramento City Hall, 1110 West Capitol Ave.
For more information or directions, call Dave Edwards at (530) 666-8416.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
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