Navy Federal Says Fraud Incident a Warning

MERRIFIELD, Va. – Navy Federal Credit Union said a recent incident of fraud should be a warning to other credit unions: “Identity fraud happens not just at the individual level,” said Loren Moeller, spokeswoman for the credit union. “It can happen to corporations too.” Police in Montgomery County, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C., raided a home in which they found a significant card fraud ring in which a couple had allegedly used a “skimming” device to capture credit and debit card numbers and then produce fraudulent cards using those numbers. Navy Federal was one of the institutions whose logo was allegedly co-opted in the scheme, Moeller confirmed. “It’s important to note that none of the card numbers used on the fraudulent cards came from our members or cardholders,” Moeller noted. “We are not planning to reissue any cards or numbers since our members’ security was not compromised in any way.” Moeller also noted that the reproduction of the logo on the fake cards was very poor quality and the cards themselves looked nothing like any of Navy Federal’s more than one million VISA branded cards.