Members of several credit unions have reported receiving emails supposedly from Enfact, a branch of Fiserv dedicated to alerting members to suspicious transactions. These emails have been confirmed as fraudulent phishing emails. Do not respond or click on any of the links included.

Below is a sample email.

From: eNFACT Notifications [mailto:noreply@enfactnotifications.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:23 PM
To: Recipients
Subject: eNFACT Case #29018

It's tax season again ... beware of the tax-prep vultures! Many for-profit companies will offer to file your taxes for free, in hopes of selling you a costly Refund Anticipation Loan. They call it "fast cash" with no out-of-pocket fees, but what they don't tell you is that the fees deducted from your tax return amount to totally exorbitant interest rates – usually ranging from 40% APR to 1000% APR! That’s predatory lending.

Here are three tips for a money-smart Tax Season.

1. Get help that’s REALLY free.

Credit union members can now nominate their favorite local nonprofits to receive a Common Cents award from Cooperative Federal.

Cooperative Federal stands with
Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Syracuse

Syracuse Cooperative Federal Credit Union stands in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Syracuse, and the nonviolent Occupy demonstrations now occurring in communities across the globe. A resolution expressing this sentiment was passed unanimously by our Board of Directors, a committee of volunteers elected by their fellow members to govern our credit union.

Cooperative Federal exists to foster economic justice, mutual aid, and reinvestment in all the neighborhoods of Syracuse, NY.

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Graphic by Eddie Colla

November 5th, 2011 was Bank Transfer Day. This was the target date for concerned activists to move our money out of global banks.

In the weeks leading up to Bank Transfer Day 650,000 people left the big banks to move their accounts to credit unions. They took $4.3 billion dollars out of the global banks and put them into member-owned credit unions.

In September 1981, neighborhood activists held the first meeting of an organizing committee to form a new Credit Union that would serve our community’s financial needs. The meeting was held at a home on Westcott Street, and members explored the need for a homegrown financial institution to meet needs of residents and organizations that were not being met by conventional, for-profit banks.

Want to avoid clutter and reduce waste? A greener option is just a few clicks away.

These are difficult times for many of us. Jobs are hard to find.

Do you have skills that you could use to earn a living? Have you thought about self-employment? Some of our members have used their skills to become self-employed at painting, window cleaning, carpentry, house cleaning, lawn mowing, snow shoveling, gardening, office cleaning, child care and baby-sitting.

Even if we find work, it can be hard to cover our expenses until we get a paycheck or two. We may have to pay for a uniform, works shoes, tools, licensing or certification, transportation, and childcare – sometimes weeks before we earn enough to pay for these.

Cooperative Federal may be able to help.

We have a special Step Up Loan to help Syracuse residents get started to step up your income. These are low-cost, short-term loans of $2,500 or less.

Step Up borrowers will also participate in one-on-one financial advising that can help in creating a budget, building or repairing your credit, starting an emergency savings fund, or working toward your other financial goals.

Call Thom Dellwo at 315-473-0217 or Kira Crawford at 315-473-0211 to learn more or to get started.

The Loan Capital for the Step Up loans has been provided by the Gifford Foundation.

Cooperative Federal's 2010 Annual Report is here!

2010 was challenging year. We faced many of the same hurdles as in 2009, but we continually restrategized in order to better withstand fallout from the Great Recession. Meanwhile, we maintained our commitment to providing fair, community-based access to accounts, loans, and financial education & counseling. Get the details -- and hear from some of the people whose lives have been changed by the credit union -- in our 2010 Annual Report .

The Annual Report features beautiful cover art from San Myint, a 10th grade student at Fowler High who won first prize in our first-ever art contest. Read more about the contest on page 18 of the report.