Text-message fraud involves credit union accounts

Chester City police are warning residents not to trust text messages from a credit union asking for personal banking and credit-card information.

Police said yesterday that they had received several fraud complaints this week involving text messages said to be from Sun East Credit Union. The text message explains that the resident's accounts have been locked and offers a number to call to unlock them.

The phone number goes to an automated system that asks users to enter account information. Several people have had their accounts cleaned out within hours of receiving the text message and giving out their account information, police said.

Police are asking people to verify account problems by contacting banks or credit-card companies directly. - Joelle Farrell