“In these latest cases, it usually starts with an account takeover so they can change the member's email or password to get into their online banking and move HELOC funds to their share draft account,” he explained.

Fraudsters posing as members used details they've gained to impersonate members when they called to request a wire transfer, he explained.

To avoid being victimized by the scam, Nettie advised credit unions to exercise extreme due diligence when processing requests for wire transfers and to avoid wiring large transfers unless the member is in the branch.

“They should look for red flags,” Nettie said.

In some recent cases, fraudsters contacted credit unions directly to change member profile information, including addresses, phone numbers or email accounts, he noted.

By transferring funds from the HELOC into a share draft account, criminals try to reduce the chance that a credit union employee would notice suspicious activity, Nettie said.

Some recent wire requests received by fax included accurately forged signatures, which the fraudsters found on the HELOC documents they searched out online, he said.

In some instances, member phone numbers were call-forwarded by the criminals or callbacks by the credit union were forwarded to the criminals, CUNA Mutual said.

“Some of the credit unions that have been hit have compared information and some of the voices on the callbacks sound like the same person, the same accent, so it does seem to involve fraud rings,” Nettie said.

Not taking steps to prevent wire fraud can be a costly mistake.

“It is important for credit unions to understand any requirements for coverage under their insurance program,” Nettie said. “Some carriers require written wire agreements, recorded phone lines or callbacks to specific phone numbers.”

“CUNA Mutual moved from a callback requirement to a co-payment for risk sharing, to discourage large dollar requests not in person, or encourage other layers of security,” he explained. “Credit unions are generally responsible for retaining 50% of losses over $25,000 for requests not received in person.”

Losses related to wire transfers have remained on CUNA Mutual's radar for 20 years, Nettie said. The company experienced its first wire transfer loss of $250,000 in 1994, he added.

Wire transfers related to HELOC accounts began pelting credit unions in 2006 with the most recent blip showing up on the screen a few months ago, Nettie said.