NCUA Warns of Phony Fraud Alert

The NCUA is urging federally insured credit unions to be on the lookout for a bogus Letter to Credit Unions accompanied by two compact discs.

The letter, which purports to be a fraud alert, has so far been received by one federal credit union. It is numbered “09-FCU-09” and deals with phishing scams.

The agency urges people not to run the compact discs because it could corrupt security.

Credit unions receiving this package or a similar package should contact your NCUA Regional Office or the NCUA Fraud Hotline at 1-800-827-9650.

Credit Unions Receive Fraud Buster Awards

The Financial Services Centers Cooperative Inc. (FSCC) shared branching network announced last week 30 of its client credit unions will receive awards for stopping more than $930,000 in fraud activity during first and second quarters of 2009.

Recipients of the Fraud Buster Awards are recognized for protecting their credit unions, their members and members of other credit unions from fraud. Credit unions stopped fraud at every touch point in the system, said FSCC.

"The award recipients demonstrated their commitment and diligence in preventing fraud for members nationwide. It is not just their members who would be impacted, but also members of other credit unions," said Sarah Canepa Bang, FSCC president/CEO.

Financial institutions and businesses lose more than $48 billion annually from fraudulent activities, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

"Fraud is one of the most expensive security challenges facing credit unions today. And as a (credit union service organization), it is our duty to provide tools that support prevention and training for credit unions," added Bang.

FSCC's Operation Advisory Committee of stockholder credit unions reviews activity and looks at ways to prevent and detect fraud through rule changes, products and services. The committee organized the awards program in 2000.

In eight years, credit unions have stopped more than $7.4 million in attempted fraud, said FSCC.

It's OK to Write Passwords on Post-it Notes . . . Providing! The Perfect 4-Character Password

My kids love going to the Web, and they keep track of their passwords by writing them on Post-it notes.

I noticed their password was "MickeyMinnieGoofyPluto" and asked why it was so long."Because," my son explained, "they say it has to have at least four characters."

Stopwatch Measures How Long It Takes to Load a Web Page

Would you like to know how long it takes to load your credit union's webpage? This program will measure the time for you. Enter the URL to be measured and watch the top of the window.

The StopWatch can only measure websites that can be displayed in a frame. Some websites use javascript to break out of frames. This is not a StopWatch bug.

Click here to check your credit unions website: http://www.numion.com/Stopwatch/index.html

Man gives teller ID before robbing Credit Union

A 34-year-old man is in custody after authorities say he gave a teller his account number and showed her his picture ID before robbing an Anchorage credit union.

The FBI says Jarell Paul Arnold of Anchorage is being held on federal bank robbery charges.
The FBI alleges Arnold walked into an Alaska USA Federal Credit Union branch Friday and inquired about the balance on his account. The teller asked for his name, account number and ID.

Authorities say he complied, and then handed over a receipt with a note on the back that said he had a gun and demanded money. The FBI says he got away with about $600. Authorities arrested Arnold on Monday. Duh!

Court records say Arnold was sentenced to 57 months in prison for bank robbery in 2004.

ATM Problems: Mouse Rolls in the Dough

An ATM deployer in Oregon discovered recently that a mouse was responsible for some of the losses it had experienced at its machine.

According to press reports, an employee at the Gem Stop Chevron in La Grande was surprised to find a mouse inside the ATM, happily nesting on a bed of shredded $20 bills.

The ATM continued to function despite the mouse, employees said. The mouse had chewed up two bills and damaged another 14 to make his nest, but the deployer reinserted all the money that wasn't extensively damaged.

The deployer released the mouse and employees could not answer questions about how the mouse got inside the machine.

Scammers try to horn in on 'clunkers' program

CUNA - http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/09/system081309-8.html?ref=hed

WASHINGTON (8/14/09)--The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is warning credit unions to educate their members about scammers seeking to take advantage of the recently renewed Cash for Clunkers program. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has reported that identity thieves are using the program to skim sensitive information from consumers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, prior to the passage of the Cash for Clunkers legislation earlier this year, reported websites that were soliciting for the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of potential customers, said BBB.

Consumers also reportedly have been solicited by companies that offer to help fill out the paperwork needed to receive vouchers to take part in the program.

The BBB has informed potential program participants that they do not need to register or receive a voucher to participate in the Cash for Clunkers program. Also, auto dealerships, not individuals, are responsible for filling out any paperwork associated with the program.

The program, which gives car buyers up to $4,500 for trading in older, gas-guzzling vehicles for more fuel-efficient cars, was responsible for an estimated 250,000 new car sales in July.
The BBB recommends that interested participants consult the official government site for the program, cars.gov, to answer any questions they may have.

When it Comes to Business: Common Sense VS. Nonsense

“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that is all. When you pay to little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

… John Ruskin (1819-1900)

Fraud report: Call center fraud is evolving

CUNA: http://www.cuna.org/newsnow/09/system080409-7.html?ref=hed

Cybercriminals are infiltrating the call center, with scams evolving into a new criminal professional call service that can spoof any number in the U.S. and offer cash out in multiple languages.

According to RSA Anti-Fraud Command Center's monthly Online Fraud Report for June, the service enables phone numbers to be customized depending on the state where the account holder resides. It also enables fraudsters to accept incoming calls, posing as the genuine account holder.

"Service providers in the underground have evolved phone fraud services into a singular location to provide other fraudsters with the ability to conduct phone channel fraud to any destination and in any language," the report said.

The service helps the cybercriminals to increase their profits while significantly lowering the risk of exposure, said RSA.

Other findings for June:

> More than 13,000 phishing attacks were identified, a 10% increase from May and the highest in 11 months;

> Attacks against credit union brands remained constant--at 18%, the same as in May. After peaking at 38% of attacks in February, attacks against credit unions dropped to 22% in March and 14% in April.

> Attacks against regional bank brands increased 60% while national brand attacks dropped more than 50%; and

> Fast-flux attacks, the denial of service using sophisticated networks of computers called botnets, increased by 5% to make up 56% of the hosting methods of attacks. Hijacked websites accounted for 26% of the attack methods.

July News & Views Published 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 . . .