Iowa Credit Unions Caution Iowans to Be Aware of Smishing Attacks

IOWA — The Iowa credit union industry is warning Iowans of recent increases in texting scams aimed at stealing personal and financial information. Known as “smishing,” these fraudulent text messages appear to be from a consumer’s financial institution and try to trick them into revealing their account number or other personally identifiable information. 

According to recent reports from the Internal Revenue Service, thousands of fraudulent domains tied to multiple MMS/SMS/text scams have been reported in 2022. In recent months, smishing attempts have increased exponentially.

Smishing campaigns target mobile phone users, and the scam messages often look like they’re coming from a credit union or bank directly. Some scams may ask users to click a link to access their accounts. The sense of urgency, misspelling and need for specific financial information should all be red flags. The scammers pretend that they already know sensitive information about you, and the text may even be spoofed to display the website or phone number of the organization the scammer claims to represent.

“This is phishing on an industrial scale, and it is putting Iowans’ financial data at risk,” said Jaimie Miller, Vice President of the Iowa Credit Union League. “Consumers need to remain vigilant with suspicious text messages and report these scams as they occur. If you are uncertain about who is contacting you, get in touch with your credit union or bank directly.”

Financial institutions will never ask for personal information, including social security numbers and full account numbers. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a helpful guide on how to spot text message scams here. 

Mount Pleasant Police investigated a two vehicle collision Wednesday at about 11:30 am at the intersection of Washington and Locust Streets. David Ellington of Mount Pleasant was driving west on Washington. He turned in front of a vehicle as he attempted to make a left turn onto Locust.  The second vehicle was driven by Cassandra Scott, also of Mount Pleasant, who was traveling East on n the outside lane of Washington when the collision occurred. No injuries were reported. Ellington was issued a citation for failure to yield upon a left turn.

On November 16 at approximately 6:54AM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a single vehicle accident in the 1200 Grid of U.S. Highway 34 near Mile marker 227 just west of Rome, Iowa. After an investigation, it was found that Olivia Le’Eetta Blessing, of Birmingham, Iowa, was traveling eastbound on U.S. 34  when she lost control of her vehicle due to a small amount of snow/ice accumulation on the roadway. The vehicle exited the roadway down into the southside ditch where it then rolled over. Olivia and a passenger sustained minor non-incapacitating injuries and were released on scene by Henry County Paramedics. The Iowa Sate Patrol assisted with this incident.

Post-election audits are mandatory in all of Iowa’s 99 counties. Following an election each county auditor’s office must conduct a hand count of one race in a randomly selected precinct.  According to Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate post-election audits have consistently matched the ballot tabulators perfectly. On November 18 Henry County Auditor Shelly Barber will head-up the hand counting of ballots from Precinct 3 for the race for Governor and for the constitutional amendment on the ballot. A total of 641 votes were cast in the governor’s race in Precinct 3. There were 527 yes votes and 88 no votes for the constitutional amendment 1. Precinct 3 is comprised of Tippecanoe, Center and Salem Townships along with the cities of Salem, Rome, Hillsboro and Westwood. Secretary Pate added another layer of protection to Iowa’s electoral process by expanding the audits to two races.  He said he hopes this will give greater protection, transparency and security to the process.

Great River Health System Board of Directors has unanimously approved the selection of Dr. Michael McCoy as full-time President and CEO of
Great River Health. Previously, Dr. McCoy served as Acting President and CEO.“The board is confident that Dr. McCoy has the experience and qualities to lead the organization. We are committed to our mission of empowering our people to provide compassionate, highquality care, while being good stewards of our resources in Southeast Iowa,” stated Douglas Martin, Great River Health System Board Chair.
Dr. McCoy joined Great River Medical Center’s medical staff in 1990 and was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Great River Health in 2015. Dr. McCoy commented, “I look forward to continuing my work with the board, medical staff and employees of the health system. Our
priority is to continue to deliver outstanding services close to home and to strengthen our relationships in our communities.”

AGENDA

November 17, 2022

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

Approve Claims

9:00 Sarah Berndt, CDS Monthly Updates

9:30 Decision on Extension Agreement with the City of New London

On S Pine Street Urban Renewal Plan

Approve Family Farm Applications

Appoint Lloyd McKay, Jr. to the Henry County Conservation Board

Other County Business as time allows

Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates