Online Fraud Warning To Members

Gary Warner, Director of Computer Forensics, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UK) said – bogus postcards circulating on the Internet to reach people’s inboxes globally contain links that lead to the PC virus – Zeus Bot Warner said – the e-mails are typically designed and their subject lines suggest that they have been sent from the 1001 Postcards website.

He also said the phony postcards direct recipients to follow a link to view its contents, however, the moment the click button is pressed; the Zeus Bot virus unleashes itself on the users’ PCs. Thereafter when infection sets in, the malware enables cyber criminals to intercept banking passwords along with account numbers, and e-mail as well as other sensitive account details of users.

Furthermore, Warner stated that cyber criminals in the current incident were using the Russian language software for Zeus Bot and were utilizing postcards like never before to download and install the virus program on the computers of unwitting users.

With the virus getting settled on a PC, it (computer) is conveniently added to the Zeus Botnet and the malware steals all data that the victim enters into a website. By utilizing an image user interface, the virus monitors the infected systems across the globe while its tools let the crooks to choose the stolen accounts related to banks according to their priority for attack.

Security experts cautioned that users getting e-mails which are allegedly sent to them from a bank or websites like eBay should not click on any link provided in them instead they type the URL of the website from where the message arrives into their browser’s address bar and directly access the site.

Sheriff Favro Conducts Robbery Training At DFCU

Sheriff David Favro recently held a robbery training seminar for DFCU staff at our New York Road branch.  The topics covered by Sheriff Favro included robbery prevention, physical and environmental security, robbery observation skills, post robbery procedure, and other helpful information associated with robbery.  Sheriff Favro worked for the Plattsburgh City Police Department for 20 years, retiring in 2002 as a Detective.  He was elected as Sheriff in November 2002. DFCU staff found the evening to be extremely beneficial. We would like to thank Sheriff Favro for taking time to discuss this very important issue.  

 

DFCU Makes Care 4 Kids Donation

Representatives from area credit unions recently gathered at the Pediatric Unit at CVPH Medical Center to make their annual Care 4 Kids donation.  The total donation from the credit unions who participated in the Care 4 Kids Program was $5,007, with DFCU donating $2,670.  The donation will be used for special projects in the pediatric unit.

Holiday Cyber Shopping Tips

Shop only at Internet merchants you know and trust. If in doubt, check with the Better Business Bureau.

 

 During the holiday season (and year round) check your credit card and bank account transactions online. Don’t wait for the bill to come in the mail. A little bit of monitoring can stop unapproved use of your credit cards or criminals dipping into your bank accounts. It’s also a wise thing to check your credit reports on a regular basis for incorrect information that may be a sign of identity thieves at work.

 

Keep printouts of the Web page describing the item you ordered and the price you’re paying, any e-mail messages, and the page that shows the seller’s name, address and telephone number.

 

Never buy anything, no matter how good the advertised price is, from an unsolicited email (spam). When tempted to buy that replica watch because that’s exactly what your friend wants, just imagine that same item being sold from a cardboard box out of the car trunk by an unsavory looking individual. Also remember, buying from a spammer could cost much more than the price of that cool replica watch — giving your credit card information to unknown entities over the web may place your identity in jeopardy.

 

Finally – Turn off the PC when you’re done shopping. With the proliferation of broadband Internet access, many users now leave their computers on ’round the clock. This opens up the door for criminals who, once they’ve infected your PC, will turn it into their “robot” and commit cyber crime.

Phishing Scam Videos From The FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has released three videos to illustrate how folks try to phish you for your personal information.  This information may seem a little goofy but people are still falling for these phishing scams.  Click on the picture above to view the videos.

 

 

Debit Card Skimming

Remember, a debit card is like a blank check.

Make sure to hide PIN numbers when using a debit card.

Use a complicated PIN number.

NEVER leave a PIN number in a wallet or purse. 30% of ID theft comes from stolen wallets and purses. Thieves find PIN numbers written on a piece of paper.

If your debit card is lost or stolen report it immediately.

Avoid using isolated ATM’s. If something seems out of place with the ATM, for example: a strange looking device attached to it, something attached to the card slot or a person lurking nearby, do not use that ATM.

Fraud Prevention Absolutes

DFCU IT Manager, Jim Dowdle, submits his computer fraud & secuity tips to benefit our membership

• No one you have never met will ever offer you a share of millions of dollars
• No one buying something from you will send you a check in excess of the purchase price and request the difference be returned to them
• Free is free, you never have to pay for something you won
• Dannemora Federal Credit Union already has your account information. We won’t call to ask for it and NO we never know your personal identification number.
• If it sounds too good to be true – IT IS!

Do and Don’t of Online PINS and Passwords

 

DFCU IT Manager, Jim Dowdle, submits his computer fraud & security tips to benefit our membership

• Don’t use last 4 digits of Social Security number
• Don’t use a birth date
• Don’t use mother’s maiden name
• Don’t use your telephone number
• Do use a combination of letters and numbers

DFCU Donates to the Interfaith Food Shelf

Matthew Barbell, Branch Manager/Marketing Coordinator poses with Interfaith Food Shelf Representative, Dorothy Crawford

As part of a “fee” for offering shredding services to the community at our 3rd Annual Shred Day, we asked anyone that attended to donate a non-perishable food item to the Interfaith Food Shelf.  We collected all of the donations, and dropped them off on June 18th.  Over 150lbs. of non-perishable food was donated!  We’d like to thank everyone that donated at Shred Day for their generous contribution!

DFCU’s 3rd Annual Shred Day

We  held our 3rd Annual Shred Day on Saturday, June 6th.  All Clinton County residents and businesses were invited to bring up to 20 banking boxes (and some did!) of confidential information to shred. In return, we asked that anyone who used the shredding service bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Interfaith Food Shelf.   A representative from the COPSCARE program was also at Shred Day to fingerprint children as part of an Amber Alert ready child ID packet for their parents.  The weather was great, and so was the turnout! 

A child is fingerprinted at Shred Day to create an Amber Alert packet for thier parents

DFCU board and staff were on hand to help with the shredding

DFCU staff hard at work

A Shred Day patron views his documents being shredded