Hawaii's Largest Credit Union Hit With Online Scam

HONOLULU -- Several Hawaii State Federal Credit Union members noticed an e-mail on Monday morning that could have compromised their accounts.

The fake e-mail told members that their accounts had been locked because they had been compromised. The e-mail asked the person to click on a link to reactivate their account.

That link asked for personal information such as credit card and PIN numbers.

The credit union said a handful of customers received the email and alerted the credit union.

The credit union warned that it would never ask for personal information in an e-mail.

The technique of using e-mail or the Internet to solicit personal information by fooling users is called "phishing." Phishing e-mails often claim to be from a large financial institution or an online service such as eBay or PayPal.

Links usually take a user to a site that looks legitimate, but isn't. Often, the address bar at the top of the screen will show something other than the expected URL.

The Federal Trade Commission has identified phishing as the No. 1 consumer complaint.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.