Bank to the Future

In the banking industry, hard times and holidays equal holdups, but one area financial institution has designed itself around cutting-edge robbery prevention.

According to Vice President Butch Holley, the Augusta Metro Federal Credit Union branch is the only "bank" in 150 square miles with such a forward-thinking layout.The unorthodox concept feels more like a Starbucks than a bank — right down to the smell. “If I could make the smell of apple pie appear when you walk in the front door, I would,” Holley says. “Since I can’t, the coffee pot is the next best thing.”

While the amenities are obvious and unconventional for a financial institution, they’re designed around security. Take the pod system, which places the member side by side with the teller. Though such a setup might appear more exposed and vulnerable, the pod is actually built around a cash-dispensing unit, which is, in effect, its own ATM. In other words, a vault.

Each pod also has a security camera, a signature pad and an ID scanner, which makes it very easy to make sure the customer actually belongs to the account he’s trying to access.

The most impressive piece of technology, however, is the biometric hand scanner, which allows entry into the safety deposit box vault.“It’s a little James Bondish,” Holley admits, “but now you don’t have to wait for a vault teller, and people love that.”

The scanner itself only takes about five minutes to program, and, from there, a customer only has to enter his code, scan his hand and he’s allowed access to the vault.

December - News & Views Below

CU SECURITY & TECHNOLOGY News - Providing a brief summary of news and information related to security and technology issues for credit unions - Plus some interesting and fun web sites.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Counterfeiting arrests up 28% this year

As the economy sours, more consumers are trying to pass counterfeit bills, according to a Sunday USA Today article.

The number of arrests for counterfeiting increased 28% this year and is the highest since 2004.

Counterfeiters passed a record $64.4 million in fake bills--a 5% increase over last year.

The spike in counterfeit bills is due to the struggling economy, Lt. Alfonzo Cook of the Moultrie, Ga., detective division, told USA Today.

More technologically advanced printers and scanners make the bills easier to duplicate, the newspaper said.

Police say counterfeiters use the fake bills for small purchases--such as $20 for gas and food. Counterfeiters also use the bills to pay for holiday gifts.

The holidays are a great time to use counterfeit bills because cashiers are overwhelmed, said John Large, Secret Service special agent.

Talk About Technology: USB Toaster

Don’t be tethered to the kitchen. Take your toast…to go! Now you can take a toaster everywhere you take your laptop. Insert a slice of any bread—white, wheat, even rye—and in 7-9 minutes, you have the kind of perfect toast you could only get from a computer.

Winner of the 2006 Gold Floppy Disc Award for Best Cooking Peripheral. No. It's not real. But the box is. Great gag gift for the technie in your family or office.

http://store.theonion.com/gotcha-gift-box-usb-toaster-p-71.html

Crimes via Text Messaging

A woman has changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc. was stolen.

Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I replied a little while ago.'

When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.

*Moral of the lesson: do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.... and very importantly, when sensitive info is asked of you through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.

*Also, when receiving a text from your friends or family to meet them somewhere that is not planned or usual, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.

As of right now, I no longer have 'home' named on my cell phone.



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Things that are about to Go Extinct in America

25. Pit Toilets -- By the 2000 Census, the number of Americans who lacked indoor plumbing was down to 0.6%.

24. Yellow Pages -- This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry.

23. Classified Ads -- The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list.

22. Movie Rental Stores -- While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds.

21. Dial-up Internet Access -- Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008.

20. Telephone "Land Lines" -- Acording to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only

19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs, Maryland's icon, have been fading away in Chesapeake Bay.

18. VCRs -- For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR).

17. Ash Trees -- In the late 1990's a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America

16. Ham Radio -- Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other

15. The Swimming Hole, thanks to our litigious society, is becoming a thing of the past.

14. Answering Machines -- The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to number 20 of our list -- the decline of land lines.

13. Cameras That Use Film -- It doesn't require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America.

12. Incandescent light bulbs -- Just a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, the 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home.

11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys -- BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year.

10. The Milkman -- According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles.

9. Hand-Written Letters -- In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day.

8. Wild Horses -- It is estimated that 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States.

7. Personal Checks -- According to an American Bankers Association report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years.

6. Drive-in Theaters -- During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country.

5. Mumps & Measles -- Despite what's been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States.

4. Honey Bees -- Perhaps nothing on our list of Disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and as necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee.

3. News Magazines and TV News -- While the TV evening newscasts haven't gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have.

2. Analog TV -- According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers.

1. The Family Farm -- Since the 1930's, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly.

See the entire list with more information on each category at: http://baycore.net/mb/index.php?action=printpage;topic=12196.0

Secure Your Car by Not Using the Electronic Lock on Your Key Chain

I locked my car --- as I walked away I heard my car door unlock I went back and locked my car again three times. I looked around and there were two guys sitting in a car in the fire lane next to the store. When I looked straight at them they did not unlock my car again.

How to lock your car safely...

While traveling, my son stopped at a roadside park. He came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later and found someone had gotten into his car, and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator briefcase - you name it. He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the police told him that there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your key-chain locking device. They sit a distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and have a few minutes to steal and run.

The police officer said to be sure to manually lock your car door-by hitting the lock button inside the car. That way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim it will not be you. When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the security code. But if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be stolen.

Be aware. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our keys. Just to be sure we remembered to lock them, and,bingo, someone has our code and whatever was in the car can be gone in minutes.

Keep safe everyone!

Liquidity

Biometric Face Recognition System Leads to First Arrest

The Sagem Morpho MorphoFace Investigate (MFI) system has scored its first arrest in Pierce County, Washington. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department used the MFI biometric facial recognition application to identify a suspect by comparing an automatic teller machine (ATM) photograph against the department’s digital database of 350,000 mug shots.

Sagem Morpho’s MFI is a robust and scalable facial recognition application that includes case evidence management, biometric matching, and forensic evaluation tools for investigative and crime solving tasks. The automated system enables law enforcement and intelligence analysts to quickly compare photographs of suspects against large databases of images, such as mug shot, driver’s license, or terrorist watch lists, and make identifications within seconds.

Located in the Seattle Metropolitan area, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD) became the first law enforcement agency in the United States to deploy the MFI system as part of a pilot initiated in summer 2008. In the booking process, PCSD uses an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to check if a suspect is in its criminal database and then fingerprint examiners to validate the results. The addition of the facial recognition tool for mug shot comparison allows PCSD to validate biometric identifications with a single examiner, reducing demands on staff and speeding the overall process.

“[MFI] eliminates 80 to 85 percent of the work in booking repeat offenders,” said Steve Wilkins, PCSD Forensic Investigations Manager. “Within minutes, the criminal record can be updated.”
PCSD took the MFI application a step further in September to help break up a local identity theft ring that had been stealing ATM cards and using them to withdraw money from the victims’ bank accounts. The only evidence obtained by detectives was a grainy photograph taken of a suspect by an ATM camera during one of the fraudulent transactions. Despite the poor quality of the photo, MFI searched the 350,000-mug shot digital database and returned two possible matches in less than 5 seconds.

FDIC Analysis: Banks Charging Billions in Overdraft Fees

On the heels of a new FDIC study showing that banks are charging Americans billions of dollars in overdraft fees, The Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy (http://www.econ4u.org/) is educating consumers about the importance of avoiding these fees. Most people do not realize that a bank overdraft fee comes at a higher interest rate and greater cost than any other imaginable loan.

A customer who makes an on-premise purchase with a debit card and overdraws their account by $20, paying it back in two weeks later, will suffer an average overdraft fee equal to 3,520 annual percentage rate (APR) in interest. And it could be even worse! If the customer overdraws by just $1 and pays it back in two weeks, some of the higher bank fees - $37 or more – are the equivalent of 96,200 percent APR. Those interest rates dwarf by wide margins what a borrower would pay for a wire transfer loan from a friend or family member, a credit card cash advance, or a short-term payday loan.

The small sample of banks surveyed by the FDIC earned $1.97 billion in overdraft-related fees in 2006, representing 74% of their overall $2.66 billion in service charges on deposit accounts. Outside groups estimate that banks in total cleared $17.5 billion in 2007 in overdraft fees alone.

Large banks often reorder transactions from largest to smallest in order to maximize the number of charges and fees they can collect for overdrafts or bounced checks. It is estimated that that nearly half of consumers pay overdraft fees every year! And the FDIC survey found that the most vulnerable Americans – youth and those with lower incomes – were more likely to be hit with these fees.

“Borrower beware: The myth of the responsible neighborhood bank is long gone, as the most vulnerable Americans are being hit with hidden fees and service charges,” said James Bowers, managing director of the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurial Literacy. “Somehow overdrafting checking accounts became a common practice, particularly among young Americans. The public needs to understand that the interest and fees on these overdrafts are far more expensive than any other conceivable form of short-term borrowing.”

200 Million Weapons Owned by US Citizens

A recent reply at a security sight caught my attention . . .

"The Coming Terrorist Attacks VERY IMPORTANT REPORT

Today I read that 200,000,000 weapons are privately owned by US citizens and 30,000 people per year are killed by these weapons. Is somebody able to explain me why 30,000 victims per year are tolerated whenkilled by private weapons, but far less cannot betolerated when killed by terrorists or even in war?

What is the difference for the victims?

Unfortunately, the news message did not inform about the number of peoplewho could be saved by private weapons. Maybe, this number is higher than 30,000. If so, it would not be a satisfying but an intelligible answer for me. But I would prefer that the 30,000 is ahoax!"

Between Google and LinkedIn, identity management becomes a farce

What I find amazing is the number of people who are involved in various aspects of security and supposedly aware of basic security policy, continue to provide endless information about themselves and all the people they are connected with on LinkedIn. Every day, LinkedIn sends a daily bulletin to members with a list of new members who have joined the list of a members you are connected with including who they know and to which organizations they and their associates belong.

Members are more interested in having as many contacts as possible than they are about their own privacy or security. Between Google and LinkedIn, identity management becomes a farce.

One becomes a member simply by sending their true or alias name to LinkedIn. If I were to submit a well known and semi-famous alias that is known to several members of the group, I am sure that they would be flattered to have me on their list of LinkedIn associates and would be openly invited to join their list. I would slowly move up the ladder with their LinkedIn associates. Then by simple social engineering I would move about freely obtaining information and recommendation without any problem. I could then send to any of these trusting persons emails outside of LinkedIn with an innocent attachment containing a simple Trojan program that would allow me to obtain any data I needed from their computer.

Many years ago, I was invited by a friend to join LinkedIn. Flattered, I replied and filled out the application form. The very next day, I received an email bulletin containing the name of the member who invited me to join with his full biography. Soon, I began receiving requests from people I knew and had never heard. The potential dangers became all to apparent and I just stopped.

Identity management is not only academic, it is an everyday policy that people in the digital world need not only preach but practice.

Jwaala Wins CUNA Technology Council’s 2008 “Best of Show” Award

The CUNA Technology Council awarded its 8th Annual BAI Retail Delivery Conference “Best of Show” award, to online banking innovator Jwaala for its MoneyTracker online banking applications. With an impressive list of powerful features and capabilities, MoneyTracker, is shaking up the industry with an exciting look at things to come in online banking. Logon to www.jwaala.com for a demo, today!

Employee perceptions of CUs have operations implications

A Filene Research Institute study concludes that employees' perceptions of their credit union may have implications for management about the credit union's operations in six areas.

The study, "Employee Perceptions of Credit Unions: Implications for Member Profitability," was the topic of a News Now story Sept. 24.

Further implications of the study's findings for senior management are also discussed, according to a review by the Texas Credit Union League (LoneStar Leaguer Dec. 3).

The six implications are:

1. Credit unions are different. If employees commit to what a credit union is, member outreach should be more successful. "It is one thing to claim, 'We have low interest rates on loans,' but is quite another to be able to say why."

2. Employees are "almost there." They are fairly committed to the idea of a credit union, and they almost unanimously agree that knowing about credit unions is important. Still, the shared understanding remains mostly implicit and is not readily articulated. When asked to explain credit unions in a face-to-face context, employees generally offer only small parts of the whole.

3. "Ours is not to reason why." Most employees do not see the credit union's characteristics as logically or causally connected. They associate different features with these but not in a clear fashion. The study suggests embedding causal ideas within a story or mythic framework to reach rank-and-file employees. This would give them a template for explaining credit unions to nonmembers.

4. Trust may be a hidden strength. "Trustworthiness" describes a credit union, but it did not figure prominently in the way employees talk about credit unions in face-to-face interviews--a missed opportunity for credit unions to build on trust as a primary differentiator. Trust may be a feature best expressed tangentially but it is an asset that should not be ignored, the study said.
5. Some employee groups are not as 'on board' as others. One such group is the most educated group. Many of these employees may see credit unions as substituting ideology and emotion for performance. They are more negative about credit unions' future, see more "dead wood" among fellow employees, and see deficiencies in efficiency, competence and professionalism.

6. Local institutional cultures matter. Employee commitment, consensus score, degree of trust and wanting to know about credit unions vary significantly by local credit union. That means local management styles and education programs can make a difference; these indicators rise and fall together, suggesting each influences the rest; and all are to some degree contagious in the sense that levels of commitment, trust and so one are self-propagating among employees.

10 classic clueless-user stories

Technology may be evolving at warp speed, but one thing about IT will never change: Techs love to swap stories about the deficiencies of their users. The dumber, the better. That's just the way it works. How else are you going to make it through the week if you don't get to shake your head in disbelief after hearing at least one tale of epic confusion, ignorance, or arrogance?

>> Icon by any other name

I had one user, the sweetest lady, who was not very computer literate. After she got her new computer, she said, "Where are my programs?" I told her that I had made shortcuts on her desktop to the programs she used. She said, "When I click on the icon, that's not the right program." When I asked her which program she was referring to, she said, "The third icon down." I asked her which program that was. "Oh, I don't know the name of it. I just know on my old computer, it was the third icon down program."
This one took a while.

>> Money's worth

Client: I don't understand why that accounting software cost so much. It's only been used once.
Consultant: What do you mean, it's only been used once? You use it every day.
Client: No, I don't. You used it once when you put the program on my computer and it's been sitting in the box ever since.
...Time to get my money up front....

>> IRQ sale

One of the contractors in my office ordered a new computer through his company. Unfortunately, he ordered a NIC with an RJ45 connector and we were on a coax network at the time. This was back in the days of Win95. I informed him of the problem and said I had a spare NIC to give him if he would order the correct NIC to replace the one I provided.

He got on the phone with his company and complained about the NIC. This guy thinks he is a computer genius, but really just thinks that bigger, better, and more are always the solution. So he ordered everything he could think of in this computer. Not a single bay was open and most of the slots were filled. Needless to say he had an IRQ problem. His company gave him the number of the computer company and told him to call their sales department. I was happy to see him on the phone because then he wasn't bothering me while I set up his computer. I overheard him say to the sales department, "My land guy says I'm out of IRQs. Can I buy some more of those?"
>> Retention dissension

We currently have a great policy for keeping e-mail to a minimum. It's only kept 90 days, then it's deleted, so if you want to save it past the retention period, you have to put it into a file somehow.This has been in effect for several years, but amazingly, we had a couple of executives in the legal dept who built up 40,000 messages in their inboxes each, without having any deleted. I finally got the connection when the new "retention

>> ####

One of our marketing managers complained that he couldn't make any sense of a telephone management spreadsheet I'd sent him because he couldn't see when the calls were made. I explained that each worksheet in the spreadsheet had a name and the name indicated the applicable month. Two minutes later, he arrived at my desk saying that he still couldn't make any sense of the spreadsheet because there were no dates in the worksheets. I opened my copy and showed him that the dates and times were in column A. He then tried to tell me that I had sent him the wrong file because his column A just had "stars" in it! Oh boy—was his face red when I showed him how to expand the column! Makes you think, huh?!

To chuckle at the rest of the stories, go to: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tr/downloads/home/dl_10_clueless.pdf

Companies That Don't Believe in Christmas

Don't you just hate it when people or organizations want to change history?

It's this time of the year when some companies and organizations don't want to recognize "Christmas." They sort of want it to go away - but only after they take your money. They want to pretend it never existed - but only after they take your money. They want to make sure certain groups are happy - but only after they take your money.

Let's see. How long has Christmas been around? About 2,008 years or so. The same is true of many holidays being around for a long time. Easter is another one. How about Memorial Day? I don't like the word "Memorial." It's a bit of a negative word. How about we get a movement underway to call it something else . . . like "That Day," or "National Shopping Day."

Here's a company that doesn't believe in Christmas - Costco (but only after they take your money).

Costco has 520 stores nationwide. But you will not find "Christmas" in a single store.

That's because Costco says it will not use the term "Christmas" on its website or in its stores. Instead, Costco is telling customers it purposely chooses to use the generic "holiday" verbiage. You know, they stock holiday gifts, not Christmas gifts.

Last week, a customer wrote to Costco and asked this direct question – "Does Costco use the word 'Christmas' in your store advertising or on any signs anywhere in your stores during the Christmas season? That's a pretty simple question, yes or no."

Kory Rosacrans, staff manager for Costco replied, "I guess the answer would be No."

Costco wants you to do your "Christmas" shopping with them, while refusing to recognize that Christmas even exists. I betcha they believe in Santa - as they take your money.

Symposium sheds light on bank security issues

ATMs are an increasing target for thieves, said attendees and speakers at the 2008 ADT Financial Security Symposium held last month in Florida.

The Latest from SIWSymposium sheds light on bank security issues

In late November, the FBI released bank crime numbers for the second quarter of 2008. In that time period, banks faced more than 1,400 robberies. The numbers were down, according to FBI Criminal Investigative Division Assistant Director Kenneth W. Kaiser, but he said "the propensity for violence during bank crimes remains a concern."

In 58 of those incidents (from a total of 1,443 incidents tracked by the FBI during that quarter), violence was involved. That included assaults, hostage situations and even deaths, noted Kaiser.
It was exactly that kind of criminal problem that brought members of many U.S. banks together for the 2008 ADT Financial Security Symposium in West Palm Beach, Fla., from Nov. 18-20.

Representatives from both enormous banks (Bank of America, for instance) and regional banks (Bank of Tampa, for example) met in the same room, hashed out common problems and tried to anticipate their future challenges. They sat in on lectures, networked over coffees, and even formed table-size workgroups to speculate on how to deal with select incidents. They talked budgets and buy-outs which precipitated from the economic recession and murmured between themselves about how that would affect security spending.

Speakers included representatives of the FBI, Postal Service, ADT technology whizzes, a workplace violence consultant, public safety specialists and others. Around the room and available for browsing during breaks were some of the emerging technologies for preventing criminal incidents. On table-tops, attendees could inspect top-notch video surveillance systems, sophisticated access control programs and even systems that would block credit card and ATM card skimming. ("Skimming" is the process of getting a card-holder to present their card and sometimes PIN to a fraudulent card reader which captures the card and access PIN information.)

In regards to the FBI statistics, these security leaders were here because financial crimes are a big problem. Just in that second quarter of 2008, robberies meant the loss of approximately $12.5 million according to the FBI's numbers. In the same quarter, monies recovered from bank robberies totaled only $1.7 million.

One of the common problems security directors said they were facing were instances of ATM thefts.

Read more about these problems at: http://www.securityinfowatch.com/online/Financial/Symposium-sheds-light-on-bank-security-issues/18954SIW339

November - News & Views Below

CU SECURITY & TECHNOLOGY News - Providing a brief summary of news and information related to security and technology issues for credit unions - Plus some interesting and fun web sites.
(Click on photos to enlarge)

Merry Christmas

Symantec puts value of underground transactions at $275M

Those of you looking for statistics to justify your security budgets for next year, look no further: Symantec has released their view of the underground economy as it has evolved over the past year.

The qualitative information in the report is amusing, but the quantitative information has far more value to anyone trying to build a justification for infrastructure and security services related to PCI-DSS. For example, the report puts the market value of the traded goods, including financial credentials, at around $275M. This total market value is dwarfed by the potential amount of cash that can be extracted by the underground using these accounts.

If you ignore the numbers, there is not too much new for those of you who have been following how pilfered data is traded on the underground. Most of the statements made in the document have been previously reduced to platitudes and anecdotes that have circulated at conferences and blogs for some time now. However, it is pretty rare that such data is collected with rigor and provided with solid analysis, and for that reason the report is useful.

A Holiday Killer. Unless You Get Hit

A recession is when your neighbor gets laid off. A depression is when you get terminated. With credit cards, fraud is not a big deal. Unless it’s your number that’s for sale, online.

A Symantec report says the underground economy is booming. The total value of goods and services was “more than” $276 million. The most popular stuff: Bank account credentials and credit cards that have CVV2 security codes with them.

But bank account credentials can be had for as little as $10. Credit cards with security codes? As little as 10 cents, up to $25 each.

What does the thief get?

Symantec figures the average balance per credit card at $4,000, yielding a potential spend of $5.3 billion. Average bank account? $40,000, yielding a potential spend of $1.7 billion.

All told, about $7 billion of money to spend. If you’re willing to go underground and get it.
That’s not chump change — if the sellers can get buyers to cough up the $276 million to buy $7 billion of purchasing “power.”

But it’s not a holiday killer. Online merchants are likely to pull in $32 billion of sales this Christmas, Hannukah and general gift-giving season, according to eMarketer. And Nielsen, at least as of October 9, was still predicting in-store sales this holiday season to rise 4.7% to $98 billion. Unit sales may be flat, but dollar sales will be up, the research firm said.

So even if every one of the 1.3 million credit cards and 42,500 bank accounts at risk, by interpolating Symantec’s numbers, are purchased and exploited to the full, that would only pump up the holiday season another 5%.

Until the sales got reversed by complaining card and account holders and start to wipe out merchants’ earnings.

A Most Interesting and Must See Web Site

This is a very unsual web site. It's for a department store and displays a number of their products. It's in a foreign language (The Netherlands) so don't worry about reading. It's the visuals that are interesting. Before you leave the home page, you will have viewed every product on that page.

It would be interesting to see a credit union site along these lines showing all the CUs services. Go to: http://producten.hema.nl/

Allow a minute for the downloading.

TEN things to say when caught sleeping @ your desk

10. "They told me at the Blood Bank this might happen."

9. "This is just a 15 minute power nap they raved about in the time management course you sent me too."

8. "Whew! Guess I left the top off the Whiteout. You probably got here just in time."

7. "I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new business strategy."

6. "I was testing my keyboard for drool resistance."

5. "I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work-related stress. Are you discriminatory toward people who practice Yoga?"

4. "Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out how to handle that big accounting problem."

3. "Did you ever notice sound coming out of these keyboards when you put your ear down real close?"

2. "Who put decaf in the wrong pot?!?"

NUMBER ONE best thing to say if you get caught sleeping at your desk........

1. Raise your head slowly and say, "...in Jesus name,"Amen."

School Credit Union Customers Have Accounts Cleaned Out

The Seminole Schools Federal Credit Union is trying to figure out how at least eight of its members fell victim to what they believe is a skimmer scam. Somehow, the credit union believes, all eight victims had their credit cards cloned and their accounts cleaned out.

Skimming are on the up-tick nationwide, but no one seems to know the common purchase point, where all the local victims swiped a card and thieves swiped their account information.

Sanford police poured through page after page of account data Monday morning, the first business day after at least eight Seminole Schools Federal Credit Union members found that every dollar in their checking accounts had been stolen from right under their nose.

"I came in crying," victim Gemara Goodwin said.Like many credit union members, Gemara teaches in the Seminole County Public School District. She only realized the $800 in her account had been stolen when she logged in online. [Read story at WFTC.com].

CU TECH CONFERENCE HELD IN NEW ORLEANS

The CU InfoTech conference, now in its 11th year, was held in New Orleans. Aproximately 100 attendees from credit unions across the country were in attendance. Program highlights included Tom Glatt, Sr. on Technology Planning, Rick Sirois on Mobile Banking for Credit Unions, Bob Frank discussed Server Virtualization, Patrick Spencer on Member Business Lending, Bill Rogers discussing Biometric ID Solutions for Credit Unions Dana Turner on Technology and Security Issues and Quintin Sykes discussing Emerging Technology and Delivery.

This was the 14th annual credit union technology conference for credit unions and the only on-going conference totally devoted to technology issues.

Jack Henry Touts Mobile Banking Signings

A year after it was launched, Jack Henry & Associates said it now has 103 financial institutions using its mobile banking solution.

goDough was introduced in November 2007 and is supported by 34 mobile service carriers and is compatible with any Web-enabled mobile device, the company said.

Functionality includes transfers, transaction viewing and support of checking, CDs, money market, loan and lines-of-credit accounts, the company said, as well as alerts and payments.
The goDough service is integrated into two of Jack Henry’s core processing platforms for banks and the Symitar Episys platform for credit unions.

Study Shows Gender Differences in Risky Driving

If “men are from Mars and women are from Venus,” then the roads on which Martians tread are likely extremely treacherous. The findings of a new study conducted by Quality Planning, the ISO company that validates policyholder information for auto insurers, suggests a noticeable difference in the number and type of traffic violations received by men versus women.

Specifically, the data indicates that men possess a greater propensity toward certain risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, failure to yield and so forth.

Drawing upon traffic code violations data for a one-year period, from 2007 to 2008, the study examined male and female perspectives on the laws of the road. Quality Planning analyzed 12 months of 2007 policyholder information for U.S. drivers, comparing the number of moving and non-moving violations for both sexes. Overall, the data indicates that men are much more likely to receive a traffic citation than women, and that this difference in driving behavior is consistent across all age groups.

According to Quality Planning, when it comes to traffic laws, women are more observant of them than men, and that the laws violated more frequently by men are those laws designed to safeguard people and property. The study found that men are cited for reckless driving 3.41 times more than women. Reckless driving is considered one of the most serious traffic offenses by courts, as it implies a disregard for the rights and safety of persons or property.

“We were not surprised to see that men have slightly more — about +5 percent — violations that result in accidents than women,” said Dr. Raj Bhat, president of Quality Planning. “Men are more likely to violate laws for speeding, passing, and yielding. The resulting accidents caused by males therefore lead to more expensive claims than those caused by women.”

Interestingly, women drivers were also about 27 percent less likely than men to be found at fault when involved in an accident. Again, this underscores the finding that women are on average less aggressive and more law-abiding drivers, attributes that can also translate to fewer accidents.

Achieving Financial Goals

34 percent of credit union members,

39 percent of regional or local bank customers and

47 percent of national bank customers are less than

satisfied with how their bank helps them achieve

their financial goals.

A Recovering American Soldier

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

If you approve, please pass it on.

If for some reason you don't do Christmas, just send a thank you card during this time of the season to thank these fine men and women who have sacrificed so much for you to have the privilege to live in American and be free to choose how you want to live and worship!

Scammers take advantage of financial crisis, holiday

Scammers are taking advantage of the financial crisis and may earmark the upcoming holidays by launching new attacks to steal personal information for possible fraud.

According to the Wisconsin Credit Union League, consumers should be wary of e-mails or ads that ask them to update, validate or confirm account information (Wisconsin State Journal Nov. 14). Credit unions can help get the word out to their members about these claims.

One claim says that a company recently acquired the recipient's mortgage and asks for an update of personal information, the league said.

UW CU, Madison, Wis., warned its members about a "secret shopper" scam that sends recipients fake checks for consumer research and asks the recipients to deposit the checks and wire the money.

Members can expect more scams to take advantage of the holidays, similar to one that occurred last Thanksgiving Day in Manitowoc County, Wis., said the league.

That scam--timed to occur when financial institutions are closed--dialed 40,000 area residents and got 20,000 people to answer the phone. It claimed the recipients' bank account was frozen, provided a toll-free number to call to reinstate it and asked the recipients to verify their personal information.

U.S. ATMs: On the Decline or Poised for a New Wave of Growth

Banks continue to seek new ways to extract value from, and provide value through, their investments in ATM technology. This article explores how the ATM’s history can guide its future, steering us toward the next wave of innovation and growth in the United States.

Twelve years after the advent of surcharging in the U.S., the promise of increased profitability has largely evaporated for financial institutions and for all but the largest, most efficient ISOs. While some high volume ATM locations are profitable, many are not. However, this does not suggest the death of the ATM channel. What it means is that we are returning to a holistic view of the bank-consumer relationship, where the ATM is just one element of the customer experience, and where channel profitability is judged not on a transaction basis, but on a long-term relationship basis. In other words, a return to the prevailing view of the ATM in the early 1990s and before.

We believe the next big ATM opportunity in the U.S. is not in added services for existing users, but in new services for new users in new locations. In one such scenario, the next generation of ATM may not be an ATM as we know it, but a financial service station for a new group of consumers with limited or no banking relationships or experience.

Read the entire article at: http://www.edgardunn.com/uploads/100030_english/100307.pdf

Laptops stolen from auditors may have members' info

Two Oregon credit unions have notified members that laptops stolen from outside auditors may have contained their names, account numbers and balances for certain types of deposit accounts but not critically sensitive information.

OnPoint Community CU, based in Portland, said a laptop that belonged to a Michigan-based auditing firm was stolen after the auditors left the office of OnPoint Community CU on Oct. 29. OnPoint Community President/CEO Robert A. Stuart told members about the theft in a letter to members posted Nov. 4 on its website.

And local media in Eugene, Ore., reported that Oregon Community CU, based in Eugene, sent out similar letters last week to members informing them that laptops had been stolen from auditors after they left the credit union for a required audit, also on Oct. 29 (KMTR.com Nov. 14).

The auditors could not confirm they deleted all OnPoint information from the laptop before leaving the offices, as required by OnPoint policy, Stuart said. "Because of this uncertainty, we are taking a number of precautions, including proactively notifying our members," he said.

He noted the information did not include any credit card information, debit card information or passwords. It also did not include any Social Security numbers, taxpayer ID numbers, birthdates or other information typically used in identity theft.

Symitar Uses Video for Users Comments

For nearly 25 years, Symitar has relied on client endorsements as their primary sales tools. After all, what can possibly speak louder about the quality of products and service standards than a satisfied client? That's why as a rule, the company provides their entire client list to new prospects, rather than just a select few "reference" clients.

You can check out users video comments at: http://www.cu-tube.com/

Biometrics Penetrating Consumer Markets, Says ABI Research

Long the domain of government and law enforcement agencies, biometric systems are increasingly moving into the market for personal data management and security. Laptops, mobile phones, storage drives and other personal devices will increasingly include biometric options to provide an additional layer of access security.

The combined growth in both government, law enforcement and private sectors for biometrics will drive spending on biometrics systems over the next five years up to $7.3 billion by 2013, up from around $3 billion in 2008.

Complete article at: http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/963701.html

Insufficient Funds

Why do banks and credit unions charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they already know there is not enough money?

ZabaSearch - Search public information for people, phone numbers, ip addresses, and more for free

If you need to find some information on a person, such as previous addresses or if you need to look up the address for a phone number, then ZabaSearch is one place you can go to find this type of information for free. The key here being that it’s free. Most of the other sites that have people search, such as WhitePages, just tell you that they found the name, but don’t give you any other information unless you buy their service.

I searched my name on ZabaSearch and it popped up with all of addresses that I have lived in for the last five years! That’s impressive considering I don’t actually have my own place as of yet. And that’s not it! It also gave me the year and month I was born, and my home phone number! You might find this like a breach of privacy, but all of this information is publicly available and that’s why ZabaSearch is able to bring it up.
http://WWW.zabasearch.com

Malware steals log-on data to accounts

The log-ons to more than a half million bank, credit and debit card accounts have been stolen over the past two-and-a-half years by a single cyber crime group using a Trojan horse spyware that "morphs" to avoid detection.

Researchers at RSA Security Inc.'s FraudAction Research Lab discovered the stolen data while they were tracking the Sinowal Trojan horse, also known as Mebroot and Torpig. They tracked the spyware to a drop server that contained the stolen data (Computerworld Oct. 31).

RSA investigators found more than 270,000 online banking account credentials, plus about 240,000 credit and debit account numbers and other personal information lifted from Microsoft Windows PCs (WashingtonPost.com Oct. 31).

The Trojan horse malware has been active since at least February 2006. Once on a system, the malware waits for the user to enter the address to an online bank, credit card company site or another financial URL. It then substitutes a fake address. The malware is triggered by more than 2,700 specific Web addresses, a much larger number than other Trojan horses.

The fake sites collect the log-on usernames and passwords to banks and other financial institutions. They trick users into disclosing information legitimate financial institutions would never collect online, such as Social Security numbers. They transmit the pilfered data to the drop server.

RSA Security said it suspected the group responsible is based in Russia. The malware was distributed globally, but Russia was the one region that had no infections.

Fly Naked

Fly naked, redux: Now there are fears that women will wear exploding bras, set to go off when they are frisked.

Scotland Yard has sent details of the bombs - which are primed to go off as the wearer is frisked by security staff - to all the major airports, including busy Heathrow and Gatwick.

The memo warns one suicide bomber in Colombo, Sri Lanka, killed herself and four police officers. "The device exploded as the attacker was being searched by two female constables," it says. "The police have determined she was wearing an improvised explosives-laden bra wired to detonate if tampered with." ....

One anti-terrorist officer said: "It may sound a little silly but you can't take anything for granted these days."

The bombers lull officers into a false sense of security by showing their bare midriff to prove they are not wearing a "bomb jacket" - but then the bra explodes.If this weren't so sick and so real, it'd be a straightline with so many punchlines.

Back in December 2001, when a jerk tried to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoe, some said the only solution is to fly naked.

Some people feel this may be a booby trap.

Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?

Female customer:
A white one...
===============

Customer: Hi, this is Maureen. I can't get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the Button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it's really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn't sound good; I'll make a note.
Customer: No , wait a minute... I hadn't inserted it yet... it's still on my desk... sorry....
===============

Tech support: Click on the 'my computer' icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
===============

Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello... I can't print.
Tech support: Would you click on 'start' for me and...
Customer: Listen pal; don't start getting technical on me! I'm not Bill Gates.
===============

Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can't print. Every time I try, it says 'Can't find printer'. I've even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can't find it...
============== =

Customer: I have problems printing in red...
Tech support: Do you have a colour printer?
Customer: Aaaah....................thank you.
===============

Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at Woolies.
===============

Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it's plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can't get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer: ! OK
Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes
Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there's another one here. Ah...that one does work...
===============

Tech support: Your password is the small letter 'a' as in apple, a capital letter V as n Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters ?
== =============

Customer: can't get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I'm sure. I saw my colleague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.
===============

Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That's not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry...Internet Explorer.
===============

Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
===============

Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I'm writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter 'a' in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
===============

A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: 'No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point.
The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine.'
===============

And last but not least...
Tech support: 'Okay Colin, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen.
Now type the letter 'P' to bring up the Program Manager.'
Customer: I don't have a P.
Tech support: On your keyboard, Colin.
Customer: What do you mean?
Tech support: 'P'.....on your keyboard, Colin.
Customer: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!!

Google’s PDF Search Throws Some Light on the Dark Web

Google said on its official blog that it has developed optical character recognition technology to the point that its search engine can read any scanned document in Adobe’s PDF format, effectively turning scanned images into words that are searchable and indexable.

It’s no secret that Google has been looking into OCR; the Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s efforts to make books and newspapers digitally searchable are also related to its broader efforts to expand the parameters of search.

October 2008 News & Views Below

CU SECURITY & TECHNOLOGY News - Providing a brief summary of news and information related to security and technology issues for credit unions - Plus some interesting and fun web sites.(Click on photos to enlarge)

Security Solutions Available from CUNA

Security Solutions, a comprehensive suite of products and services and educational training and consulting that will help you foster a safer, more prepared credit union environment.

Physical Security
Keep your staff and members far out of harm’s way and prevent losses from physical damage, theft, and unauthorized access to critical equipment and documents.

Network Security
Keep your network operational and intruders or other dangers at bay, preserving the privacy, integrity, and availability of electronic data. Learn how to comply with applicable federal and state laws.

Fraud Prevention
Reduce your credit union's risk exposure and your members from identity theft and phishing exploits. Outsmart potential perpetrators, take heed of suspicious account activity, and follow other proactive measures to safeguard your members’ identity and your credit union’s intellectual property.

Business Continuity
Establish business continuity planning resources and a course of action that will accelerate your return to “business as usual” in the wake of a crisis. Understand how to test and update your plan to ensure its ever-lasting dependability.

Click here for more information: http://strategicservices.cuna.org/sec_solutions/csa_sec_solutions.html

Meet Bill Rogers at CU InfoTECH 2008

Meet Bill Rogers, Tom Glatt, Sr. and a host of others at CU InfoTECH 2008 in New Orleans. The dates are November 13-16 at the Monteleone Hotel in the French Quarter.

Yes, we will be talking biometric identification and hope to give you information overload on this technology. The program includes video clips from four credit unions using this technology for member and employee authentication.

The program is co-sponsored by CU Conferences and William Rogers & Associates.

For more information, visit: http://cuconferences.com/Tech08/default.htm

Do You Still Fall for These Email Hoaxes? Five Common Email Hoaxes

Friends don’t let friends fall for email hoaxes, right? Wrong! I get hoax emails from my friends all the time, and sometimes even I am tempted to believe them!

If you are as annoyed by these misinformed emails as I am, help is on the way. Here are some of the most common types of email hoaxes and several ways for you to check the credibility of the next suspicious email you get.

1. The Sick Kid Email Hoax: The names and diseases change, but the premise is basically the same. A young child, stricken with a horrible, fatal disease, wishes for everyone to pass the email along to friends, relatives, work buddies, distant acquaintances, etc. Usually the email says that each person sending it on causes a donation to be made to a charity or research facility so that the world will be eradicated of the disease in the future. Bottom line? There are no email tracking programs that will generate money at the click of the send button.

2. The Virus Email Hoax: Pass this on to everybody in your email address book! The “Insert latest virus name here” is going to crash your hard drive, cause you major headaches and cost you tons of money. Okay, reality check. Yes, real viruses can be nasty and expensive. But if your best plan for attack is to rely on your friends for a virus warning, you may have bigger problems.

3. The “True” Urban Legend Email Hoax: Is there such a thing as a true urban legend? Usually, no. Your helpful friends want you to be safe and informed, so they send you along the convincing stories warning against all kinds of different dire scenarios. Any of the following sound familiar? HIV needle in the phone booth/gas nozzle/movie theater. The poor sap that paid $250 for a cookie. The man who had his kidneys stolen. The person in the shopping mall parking lot waiting to spray you with perfume (which is really ether) so they can debilitate you and steal your cash.

4. Giveaways and Free Money Email Hoaxes: These are anything from the ones where you send the email on and sit back to wait for your free clothes/candy/money to appear, to the granddaddy of them all: the Nigerian Hoax Email Scam.

5. Chain Letter Emails: Okay, I admit, these are not dangerous, just annoying! You mean to tell me, if I don’t send emails on to at least 10 people, I am an antisocial creep destined to become a lonely elderly cat person? (And I love cats!) Please. I am embarrassed to send these silly letters on to my friends, which is why I never do.

So how do you find out if an email forward you’ve received is an email hoax? There are a number of good websites that will help you out. My personal favorite is http://www.truthorfiction.com/ I can click on the search box, enter in the title or key phrase in the email I have just received, and it will instantly give me the real scoop.

There are also other sites that offer good email hoax information: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/, http://www.vmyths.com/ for information on computer viruses, http://www.hoaxbusters.ciac.org/, and http://www.snopes.com/. These are just a few of the many sites containing information about hoaxes, myths, and urban legends.

Now, for the more delicate question. What do you do about all those friends who send this junk to you? Do you tell them the email is bogus? Quietly delete it? I, for one, don’t really want to make my friends feel stupid, so I usually quietly ignore the harmless or long-circulating ones. However, when I receive one that I think merits concern, I will usually send a link to one of the hoax sites so they can get the truth. Does it help? Well, I still get stupid forwarded emails. But at least I know I’ve done my part to educate a few people about not always believing what they read. I hope I’ve done my part to help you, too!

More resources Truth or Fiction: http://www.truthorfiction.com/ Hoax Slayer: http://www.hoax-slayer.com/ Hoaxbusters: http://www.hoaxbisters.ciac.org/

Do-Not-Call List Pros and Cons

Turns out you can add anyone's number to -- or remove anyone's number from -- the Canadian do-not-call list. You can also add (but not remove) numbers to the U.S. do-not-call list, though only up to three at a time, and you have to provide a valid e-mail address to confirm the addition.

Here's an idea. If you're a company, add every one of your customers to the list. That way, none of your competitors will be able to cold call them.

Another round of robo-call scams hit CUs

Credit unions in four states are reporting members and nonmembers have been hit with another round of e-mails and "robo-call" scams, aimed at tricking consumers out of their personal financial information. Click below for information:

http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/08/system102708-10.html?ref=hed

CUs + Biometrics = CU InfoTECH Conference

http://www.mydocsonline.com/pub/wrogers/CUTech08.gif
Biometric identification technology will be one of the key subjects discussed at the CU InfoTECH 2008 Conference set in New Orleans for November 13-16. Visit the conference website at: http://cuconferences.com/Tech08/FINAL%2008%20InfoTech%20Rough%206_24-Final.pdf
to learn how credit unions are using biometric ID for employee and member authentication.

..

FakeTV Burglar Deterrent Device

We're sure your home is a sanctuary for gadgets and electronics... problem is thieves love expensive 5.1 surround systems just as much as you do. So what happens when you need to leave your humble abode for several weeks while making an annual pilgrimage to Tokyo? Well your Mom would tell you to simply leave a TV on in an upstairs window to give your would-be burglars the impression you are at home. Problem is, leaving your 50 inch plasma display to burn-in for days on end is not a desirable solution either.

Luckily the FakeTV Burglar Deterrent Device has got your back. This small white box is only vaguely reminiscent of a TV, but it features a series of LED lights that glow to simulate the changing screen of a real TV. Put it behind some blinds or in an upstairs window and it creates the completely convincing effect of an active TV. Potential thieves will assume you are at home and instead choose to break into your neighbor's house and rip off their collection of old betamax VCRs.

For more information, visit: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/a8d6/

Major Discounts On-Line

Black Friday - the number one shopping day, the day after Thanksgiving - is just around the corner. You probably don't have time to scour all the deal sites every day but this is a good one to check out, NOW. Don't wait until the day before Thanksgiving. The Black Friday ads are excellent.
It also features discounts available only on-line, every day and not just on Black Friday.
http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

Black Friday Predictions for 2008

Having covered Black Friday extensively for the past five years, the site is in a better position than pretty much anyone else to offer predictions for this year. Over the years we've noticed trends in the deals offered by the major retailers and can offer a glimpse into what we believe will be the 2008 Black Friday deals and hot items. We'll also give you some predictions for the actual prices you'll see these items selling at this Black Friday based on our research.
http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/BlackFridayPredictions

CU blogger notes female members' needs

Selling a woman on a credit union is like selling an entire household, according to a credit union blogger.

Mark Arnold, senior vice president of marketing at Neighborhood CU, Dallas, noted female credit union members' needs on CU Campus, an Internet-based tool developed by CU Village and launched by the Michigan Credit Union League.

Credit unions should connect women with their brand because they'll pass it along to friends.

"Women are three times more likely to recommend a brand or service they enjoy than men are," Arnold said. Credit unions also should offer retirement plans focused exclusively on women. Women are under-enrolled in retirement plans compared with men, he said.

"Women make almost 80% of the household buying decisions, comprise 59% of total college graduates and will control 60% of the wealth in the U.S. by 2010," Arnold added.

A 1969 perspective on computers in the future

Remember The Jetsons and how cool “the future” was supposed to be? This 1969 video shows the convenience of online shopping, banking, and an “electronic correspondence machine.” It shows a future with a passable resemblance to today.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/classic-tech/?p=192

One of the most fun things about looking at how things used to be is looking at what people used to think “the future” would look like. This video is a case in point. Here we have a vision of home computing from the time the original Star Trek was on the air.

Today we do pretty much everything shown in this video, just a little differently. The dials and push buttons look quaint by today’s technological standards. It’s interesting to see flat screens, however, in an era that didn’t have TV tubes as large as the displays shown. The “electronic correspondence machine” is interesting in that it foreshadows the development of tablet PCs, a technology that still isn’t quite where it needs to be for mass adoption.

It’s interesting what the video says goes on in the background:

“To maintain these, and hundreds of complex electronic circuits, a monitor checks all circuits every few seconds, inserts a backup circuit if and when trouble develops, and alerts the Communal Service Agency for replacement.”

The images on the video suggest that they’re talking about physical circuits in the home computers, but I can’t figure out how they thought that would work. It’s much more analogous to the network connections that happen on the Internet between routers today. That may be more what they were suggesting.

Of the nontechnical aspects to the video, I thought it was interesting to notice the misogynistic aspect of it whereby the wife would do nothing but shop and watch the kids, while the husband did all the bills, banking, and correspondence from his workstation. And he did all this while holding his head and shaking it at his wife’s extravagance. I guess they didn’t expect culture to change much in the future even if the technology did.

What views of the future do you think we have today that we’ll look back on in 40 years and go “What were they THINKING?”

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead

FBI posts photos of threat letter to financials

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), yesterday posted online photographs of one of more than 50 threatening letters mailed to financial institutions in 11 states.

In addition to a threatening message, most of the letters also contain a powder substance, according to a statement from the FBI. Field and laboratory tests on the powder so far have been negative, said the agency.

Financial institutions in New York, New Jersey, Washington, District of Columbia, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Oklahoma, Georgia, California and Texas have reported receiving the letters. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of Thrift Supervision also received letters, according to the FBI.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who prepared and mailed the letters, which were mailed from Texas and postmarked at Amarillo.

"Should your any part of your institution--corporate offices, branches--receive one of theses letters, please contact your local FBI office and ask for the WMD Coordinator," said the FBI.

FISOLV OFFERING INDIVIDUAL BUSSINESS IMPACT ANALYSIS AND RISK ASSESSMENT SERVICES

FISolv announced it is offering two additional services to financial institution to help build the Business Continuity Plan (BCP). FISolv now offers an individual Business Impact Analysis (BIA) and Risk Assessment independent of their complete BCP. FISolv will host informational webinars on the BIA and Risk Assessment.

Penny-pinching shoppers may get PC deals soon

Sales of personal computers didn't live up to expectations over the summer, and now analysts predict shoppers will cut spending even more drastically in the all-important holiday quarter.

So far, PC prices appear to be holding steady. But buyers may get better deals soon as computer companies try to avoid getting stuck with a pile of unsold inventory on Dec. 31.

Analyst Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies said the unofficial start date for holiday PC promotions has crept earlier in recent years. This year, Kay said, computer makers are feeling panicky and wondering if they'll even make it through October without slashing prices.

PC makers generally reap thin profit margins, so don't expect prices to drop precipitously. In addition to whatever price cuts they do make, companies also are likely to offer more package deals that include free software or hardware add-ons to make more expensive machines look like a better deal. They may also rely on the age-old practice of luring shoppers with a low-end, cheaper configuration, but try hard to up-sell pricier, more powerful machines.

New Investment Plan

If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.

With Lehman Brothers, you would have $1.65 left of the original $1,000.00.

With Wellman, you would have less than $0. 50 left.

If you had purchased Frontier, ATA, or Skybus Airlines, you would have nothing left.

But, if you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling refund, you would have $212.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. This is called the 401-Keg Plan.

Trying to increase productivity? Send your employees home

Companies that give their workers the option of telecommuting are seeing greater productivity, lower costs, improved employee health and greater employee retention, according to a survey released today by the Computing Technology Industry Association.

Case in point: I’m typing this from this from my own home office setup - a desk out in a corner of the garage where there’s a printer, a phone, some speakers (for my background tunes) and even a small TV with CNN on in the background. I’m still wearing the shorts and T-shirt I threw on this morning when I started the grind of getting the kids off to school. Since then, I’ve gone through my RSS-feed reader, answered a handful of e-mails and started writing this blog entry.

The upside for the boss: I started working as soon as I poured that first cup of coffee and haven’t really stopped since. The upside for me: I didn’t have to fill my tank, scrounge up some lunch money or even iron a shirt. And when the kids get home from school, I’ll be here. There’s no sitter to pay just to watch them do their homework.

Among the findings of the survey:

> 67 percent of the companies polled said employees were more productive, largely because they spent less time getting to and from work.

> 59 percent reported seeing cost savings from reduced use of office-related materials and resources.

> 39 percent said they have access to a more qualified staff, expanding their options to people who are located in - and not willing to relocate from - other regions. Likewise, 37 percent said telecommuting improved employee retention.

> 25 percent said employee health was improved, largely by reducing stress levels associated with the commute.

> Other benefits included promotion of safety through reduced highway use (18 percent) and environmental benefits (17 percent).
(Click on Graph to Enlarge)

Today’s tech tools - things like VPNs, WiFi hotspots, faster broadband connections and online and video conferencing services - have made telecommuting easier. My favorite tool: a virtual phone number from Google’s Grand Central service allows me to give my business contacts one phone number that simultaneously rings my home phone, office phone and cell phone so I never miss a call.

There are some downsides, though. Companies said that their challenges include: securing corporate information systems (53%), limiting use of unauthorized and unsupported devices (38%), and controlling personal use of corporate mobile assets (33%). To meet the challenges, companies have had to upgrade their networks and VPN equipment and expand security, training, and implementation of new virtualization technologies and applications.

For the employees, the biggest downside of being a telecommuter is that idea that you’re never really “off.” More often than not, I’ll give the boss another hour or two of work after dinner or just before bed - which can easily turn a 40-hour week into a 50-hour week. But I don’t mind.

For me, giving the company some extra work time is my way of saying thanks for the opportunity to stay off the freeway and be around to watch my kids grow up.

Financial Definitions I Never Knew

CEO --Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO-- Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistakehimself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance,the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.

VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as themarket keeps crashing.

BROKER -- What my broker has made me.

STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.

STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.

STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assetsequally between themselves.

FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.

SUBPRIME MORTGAGE - A loan that allows you to buy a house in less thanprime condition for way above market value.

BAILOUT - What you do in the basement of a subprime house following thefirst rains after you move into it.

MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it disappears down thetoilet.

YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 pershare.

WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo@ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in anuthouse.

PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use.

Wal-Mart selects PayPal for online payments

The online division of US retailer Wal-Mart Stores accepts PayPal for online payments.

Wal-Mart is the world's largest public corporation by revenue, according to the 2008 Fortune Global 500 magazine. Walmart.com provides over 1 million products in its online store, including electronics, toys, home, garden, baby, sports products and more. Wal-Mart is the largest grocery retailer in the US, with an estimated 20 percent of the retail grocery and consumables business.

Walmart.com has a traffic rank of 247 in Alexa's most visited websites ranking. According to a US study released by Javelin Research & Strategy in September 2007, alternative payment methods, PayPal included, will increase to gain 30 percent of all online transaction volume by 2012, up from 14 percent in 2007. Consumers participating in the surveys consider alternative payment methods as trusted and viable method to pay for online purchases.

At present, PayPal processes almost USD 2,000 in payments every second.

September 2008 News & Views Below

CU SECURITY & TECHNOLOGY News - Providing a brief summary of news and information related to security and technology issues for credit unions - Plus some interesting and fun web sites.(Click on photos to enlarge)

Credit Union Technology Conference Set for New Orleans, November 13-15

Click on graphic to enlarge:

GEICO Credit Union Implements Biometric Access Control System

GEICO Federal Credit Union, headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, recently purchased and implemented US Biometrics' AccessQ system for controlling physical access to various entrances with fingerprint biometrics. US Biometrics worked with GEICO to specify and implement the hardware and software system so as to biometrically control strategic entrances within their facility.

About The Products Implemented

> AccessQ biometric devices are a secure, convenient, and cost-effective alternative to badges or swipe cards. They offer levels of authorization for an individual wanting access through an entranceway and connect to the existing local area network which reduces installation costs.

> CentralQ software stores credentials including fingerprint profiles and employee information. It provides a mechanism for scheduling access based on authorization levels and the time of day.

> CentralQ Reporting allows administrators to view who accessed which devices at what time and provides some basic statistics about the system's usage.

For more info, visit:
http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/870360.html

Large CU Execs Lobbying for CUNA-NAFCU Merger

It would be the credit union movement equivalent of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees joining forces. Saying that the credit union movement would be better represented with one voice, the CEOs of six large credit unions are urging the boards of CUNA and NAFCU to begin merger talks.

Two CUs report telephone scams

Two credit unions reported scams this week involving telephone calls, fraudulent e-mails and text messages to members and non-members.

St. Vrain Valley CU, Longmont, Colo., said members and non-members of the credit union reported fraudulent telephone calls from scammers attempting to obtain personal financial information. The area codes of 303, 720 and 970 are being targeted, the credit said on its website.

The calls claim to be from St. Vrain, saying recipients' cards have been suspended and inviting them to reactivate after they give out personal information.Polish National CU, Chicopee, Mass., also reported that fraudulent e-mails, text messages and telephone calls were sent to credit union members and non-members. The messages said that their accounts had been suspended due to a billing failure.

If the recipients responded to the e-mail, they were linked to a fake online banking site or given a phone number to call. They were asked to submit their credit card number and personal identification number to reactivate the account, the credit union said on its website.

ATM fraud poised for increase

Studies conducted by US risk management bodies point out that ATM debit card fraud is an ever-growing trend in the current economic climate, particularly since fraud detection software has improved credit card security and debit cards are currently seen as more readily available by fraudsters. To that effect, experts expect ATM skimming – which consists of installing a hidden device inside the machine itself to read and store all personal data which are then transferred onto cloned debit cards – to increase in the coming interval.

In the US, debit card fraud is made even more of a risk due to US federal regulations which limit cardholders’ liability for credit card fraud to UDS 50, while the same limit only applies to debit card frauds which are reported within 48 hours. Moreover, debit card fraud empties the victims’ checking accounts, causing a spiral of troubles such as missed payments and rejected checks.

The study in question points out that while ATM fraud is increasing and ATM fraud schemes are getting more creative, there is a positive consequence of the increase in ATM debit fraud, namely that banks are incurring growing losses as a result and are stepping up their ATM-safety measures. In other words, the banks’ previous outlook regarding debit card fraud as an acceptable business loss is changing, and a number of solutions are being put into place to increase debit cardholders’ protection. Among the measures mentioned by information-technology research and advisory company Gartner, which conducted the study, are replacing ATM PIN keypads with dialing devices or programming ATMs to react when they are being tampered with and automatically shut down.

Members, Customers Want More Non-Traditional Services, Survey Reveals

While members and bank customers are generally satisfied with their financial institutions, most prefer additional services such as financial planning and legal advice, according to a new survey.
Conducted by Coinstar Inc, in partnership with Kelton Research, a strategic services research firm, the survey showed that 67% of respondents said they still like the personal touch. Sixty-six percent said they would much rather stand in line for a teller than at an ATM.

When survey respondents were asked about using non-traditional banking services if offered by their financial institution, many liked the idea of one-stop shopping at their branch. Fifty percent said they would take advantage of financial or related services not traditionally provided by their branch if they were offered. Legal advice and financial planning were among the most desired.

Postal services, computer and printing services and self-service coin counting machines were also among the top non-traditional services requested. Other services of interest to respondents included a snack bar, Wi-Fi access, neck and shoulder massage, and even a supervised play area for children.