USAA customers are asked to delete and not follow the instructions in email messages that claim that there is a pending direct deposit on hold. The email messages (see a sample below) are phishing scams that are being sent by cybercriminals to trick their potential victims into clicking on a link within the same email messages, which go to phishing websites that steal USAA account credentials (usernames and passwords).
USAA customers who have already been tricked by the phishing email messages are asked to change their passwords and contact USAA immediately before their money is stolen, online accounts hijacked and used fraudulently by cybercriminals.
A Sample of the USAA Phishing Email
From: "USA"customer@noreply.com
Date: 30 March 2017 at 17:28:11 BST
To: Recipients <customer@noreply.com>
Subject: PENDING DIRECT DEPOSIT ON HOLD
USAA SECURITY ZONE
Account Security
Solution Dept.
USAA # ending ****
Subscribed Alert: Action Required
Dear USAA Customer,
We received the following deposit and it's pending verification to be deposited into any of your USAA account
Date: 03/04/17
Account ending in: ***0
Deposit amount: $4,948.89
Details: PENDING DIRECT DEPOSIT GS ACH170
Ststaus: PENDING VERIFICATION APPROVAL
In accordance with the Depository Agreement, funds may not be available immediately.
NOTE: All fileds are required to complete your deposit verification.
Complete Verification Approval Here
Thank you,
USAAess and is committed to keeping your accounts and personal information safe. To learn how we protect your information, visit our Security Center.
Thank you, USAA
USAA users should never click on a link to sign into their online accounts. They should always go directly to https://www.usaa.com/ and sign into their accounts from there. Once they have signed in, they will be notified of transactions, changes, verifications or updates that need to be done to their accounts.