Epidemic Of Online Bank Account Hacking...
Most ID Theft Starts At Home!
40 Million Mastercard Holders Hacked
Equifax Is Hacked Again!
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Epidemic Of Online Bank Account Hacking... |
This page is dedicated to help all those who have fallen
prey to online "Phishing". In just a very short amount of time,
hackers have been able to trick people, through email, to give
up their personal banking information. Over 75 million people
in the US alone have become victims to this practice. Average
loss per incident: $1,200.
Most ID Theft Starts At Home! 40 Million Mastercard Holders Hacked Equifax Is Hacked Again! |
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A Matter Of Public Record
Activist Aims to Scare Officials Into Protecting Personal Data The Washington Post's Jonathan Krim talks about a woman aiming to scare officials into protecting personal data. (Click For Link To Story) Betty (but call her BJ) Ostergren, a feisty 56-year-old from just north of Richmond, is driven to make important people angry. She puts their Social Security numbers on her Web site, or links to where they can be found. Click Here For Betty's Web Site |
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Almost 2 million americans have had their bank accounts
accessed by online thieves in the past 12 months. The
in-depth report by research group Gartner showed that
consumers reported an average loss per incident of $1,200,
pushing total losses higher than $2 billion for the year.
Gartner researcher Avivah Litan blamed online banking for
most of the problems.
Litan said: "There are no back-end fraud detection solutions for it." When you think about it, there is no "back-end" solution because you, as the consumer, have already given the thief ALL OF YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION. The thief is just acting as YOU. There is no technology in place that can prevent access to your account if the bank thinks its YOU. 
The survey results offer a rare glimpse at the state of bank fraud:
Financial institutions are tight-lipped about fraud losses. But
Litan said the study confirms comments she regularly hears from
bank investigators. "The results are consistent with what banks are
telling me. ... When I talk to them, they all nod their heads that
this is the area where they are seeing the most fraud escalation."
The trend neatly follows a sharp rise in so-called phishing e-mails, which attempt to steal consumers' user names and passwords by imitating e-mail from legitimate financial institutions. A Gartner study released in May showed at least 1.8 million consumers had been tricked into divulging personal information in phishing attacks, most within the past year. Phishing attempts designed specifically to steal bank information began to skyrocket about 10 months ago, according to Dave Jevans, chair of the Anti-Phishing Working Group. Overall, phishing e-mails have jumped 4,000 percent in the past six months, and just last month, Citibank overtook eBay as the most common target. The company faced an average of 16 attacks per day, and 475 separate phishing attacks during April, an increase of nearly 400 percent from March. "It's working, there's no doubt about that...There's people who are under constant siege now," Jevans said. "It's like people setting up fake ATMs everywhere." Some days, banks are targeted dozens of times, which not only leads to identity theft, but also jam-packed customer service telephone lines. "Clearly the issues are far more significant than anyone expected they would be. Phishing and spoofing (setting up look-alike bank Web sites) are really getting to people," said Larry Ponemon, founder of privacy think tank Ponemon Institute, and a bank consultant. "It is an epidemic. It's a very big problem." Also, computer criminals are becoming increasingly proficient at writing Trojan horse programs and keyloggers that steal passwords and account information. Such secret malicious programs, which are more widespread than many realize, could be the cause of up to half the account takeovers. Such programs can be installed on home users' computers through virus-laden e-mails. People who do their online banking at public computers, such as at Internet cafes and libraries, are also at risk from this kind of password swiping. The Gartner survey found that more than 4 million consumers reported suffering checking account takeovers at any time during recent years, with half that number saying it had happened in the most recent 12-month span -- indicating a sharp increase in the activity. While consumers who responded to the survey didn't know how the money was moved out of their checking accounts -- fake ATM cards are another possibility, for example -- Litan said she suspects a sharp rise in hackers taking over online bank accounts is the likely cause. Criminals are using creative ways to transfer money out of hijacked accounts, she said. "A couple of banks tell me (the criminals) set up a bill payment account, then pay themselves," she said. Another method, said U.S. Postal Inspector Barry Mew, takes advantage of the images of canceled checks made available to online bankers. Imposters use them to create authentic-looking counterfeit checks; they have an added air of legitimacy, since the check numbers are appropriately in series. Online banking, including online bill paying, has spiked in popularity in recent years, particularly as more financial institutions offer the service for free. According to Gartner, 45 percent of the 141 million U.S. adults who use the Internet pay bills online. Consumers like the convenience and banks like the operating savings. But not everyone is comfortable banking online, and Gartner's study confirms some of that group's worst fears: that accounts can be tapped into by criminals. "They should be afraid," Litan said. "The banks should be requiring more than just passwords to use online banking. They all know they have to do something, but they are all afraid to take the first step." THIS IS AN ADMISSION OF GUILT ON THE BANKS PART. 
Identity theft expert Rob Douglas described the study results as "blockbuster,"
and said banks may be forced to re-think the way they are giving consumers
access to checking accounts online. "They may say it's because customers
are not practicing the appropriate safeguards," he said. "But when it
comes to online banking, they are not doing a good enough job of educating
customers what to watch out for. Someone is making a lot of money."
SiteApproved® ABSOLUTELY agrees with this statement: "But when it comes to online banking, they (the banks) are not doing a good enough job of educating customers what to watch out for." Litan said the industry was reeling in part because there is no software designed to detect unusual checking account withdrawal patterns, outside of software that looks for money laundering, which doesn't catch simple unauthorized withdrawals. Most credit card users are familiar with industry software called Falcon, which alerts issuers when out-of-the-ordinary purchases are attempted. Such software will often cause a card issuer to call a consumer and ask questions like, "Are you really in London buying a diamond necklace right now?" There's no similar product for online banking, Litan said. Still, there are simpler solutions banks could implement to protect themselves and consumers. One idea is a "shared secret" -- a picture that consumers would give to a bank, which would then appear each time the consumer visited the bank's site, confirming it was the authentic corporate Web site and not a "spoof" site controlled by a hacker. "There's a lot at stake here," Litan said. "And there's a lot that banks can do." Many banks don't make consumer rights clear enough, said George Tubin, an analyst at Tower Group. He praised Bank of America, Citibank, and Wells Fargo for offering credit-card style "zero liability" policies on their online banking products. BUT- THERE IS NO "ZERO LIABILITY" FOR ID THEFT. SiteApproved® has been fighting the banking industry for years on this issue. WE BELIEVE WE HAVE WON THIS FIGHT with: The Internet Pocket Safety Guide© It is a very simple set of instructions to follow. Please, get yourself protected. SiteApproved® will show you how! If you have already fallen prey to online theft, here are some of the things you need to do right away... Your ID's been stolen. Now what? Step 1: Protect your finances Contact the fraud departments of each of the three major credit bureaus. Get a copy of your credit report, which is free to ID theft victims. Ask that your file be flagged with a "fraud alert tag" and a "victim's statement." That will limit the thief’s ability to open new credit accounts, as new creditors will call you before granting credit, generally. Insist, in writing, that the fraud alert remain in place for seven years, the maximum, according to PrivacyRights.org.
Step 2: File a police report You will need a police report to dispute unauthorized charges and for any insurance claims. Be persistent; your local police department may suggest that this isn’t necessary, because they don’t want the paperwork hassle. Also, fill out an online ID Theft complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or call 1-877-ID-THEFT. That enters your case in the FTC’s “Consumer Sentinel” database, a nationwide list of ID theft cases which can be used by law enforcement officers to find patterns and catch criminals. Step 3: Close all compromised accounts The list may be wider than you realize. This includes accounts with banks, credit card companies and other lenders, and phone companies, utilities, ISPs, and other service providers. Dispute all unauthorized charges – The FTC offers a sample dispute letter on its Web site. Disputes may require a sworn statement and a police report. The FTC also offers a form affidavit which can be used for the sworn statement at www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf We have MUCH MORE help available including: Please contact us or, go straight to our Membership Page: I want to be a SiteApproved® Member. |
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