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| Industrial Distributors Federal Credit Union |
IDFCU News 3
Tips to Protect Yourself From ID Theft
- Only carry the credit cards that you need in your wallet.
- Keep all sensitive documents, checkbooks and credit cards securely locked away at home and at work.
- Shred all private documents.
- Do not leave mail in your mailbox.
- Always place outgoing checks and other sensitive documents in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox.
- Sign up for automatic payroll deposits.
- Keep passwords hidden (even in your home) and change them frequently.
- Switch from paper bills, statements and checks to on online versions.
- When using a computer, regularly update firewall and antivirus software.
- Don’t discard your computer without destroying the data on your hard drive.
- Don’t respond to suspicious e-mails. Delete them and if in doubt, contact the company to determine if valid.
- Get a copy of your credit report at least once a year.
- Be assured that your credit union will never request personal and/or account information via an e-mail request.
Phishing
In computing, phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant messaging, and often directs users to enter details at a website, although phone contact has also been used. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users.Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical measures.
Tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam:
- If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don't click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company's correct Web address yourself. In any case, don't cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser — phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that actually send you to a different site.
- Area codes can mislead. Some scammers send an email that appears to be from a legitimate business and ask you to call a phone number to update your account or access a "refund." Because they use Voice over Internet Protocol technology, the area code you call does not reflect where the scammers really are. If you need to reach an organization you do business with, call the number on your financial statements or on the back of your credit card. In any case, delete random emails that ask you to confirm or divulge your financial information.
- Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them all regularly. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge.
- Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.
- A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It's especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Operating systems (like Windows or Linux) or browsers (like Internet Explorer or Netscape) also may offer free software "patches" to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.
- Don't email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organization's website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser's status bar or a URL for a website that begins "https:" (the "s" stands for "secure"). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.
- Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.
- Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computer's security.
- Forward spam that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report problems. You also may report phishing email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. The Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of ISPs, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies, uses these reports to fight phishing.
- If you believe you've been scammed, file your complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC's Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Victims of phishing can become victims of identity theft. While you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim of identity theft, you can take some steps to minimize your risk. If an identity thief is opening credit accounts in your name, these new accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. You may catch an incident early if you order a free copy of your credit report periodically from any of the three major credit bureaus. See www.annualcreditreport.com for details on ordering a free annual credit report.
Example of Phishing Email
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Secured Web Based Payment Products APEX - ACH CORPORATE CREDIT UNION
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Validating your identity (New 2008 types of APEX/ACH Digital IDs!)
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Certain types of Digital IDs require that we compare some of the information in your application to information contained in a APEX/ACH database. We do this in order to authenticate your identity and other attributes, and also to prevent identity theft. From time-to-time, we notify our subscribers of new products, announcements, upgrades and updates.
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Our Security Procedures
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APEX/ACH consider the protection of all personal information we receive from our Web site visitors and subscribers as critical to our corporate mission. Please be assured that we have security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of any personal information we receive from you. Our security procedures are also subject to at least an annual SAS-70 Type II audit by an internationally-recognized accounting firm.
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To update personal information in your 2008 APEX/ACH Digital ID, please click here:
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https://paylinks.cunet.org/signup-2008-DigitalID.aspx
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All APEX/ACH customers must agree to new conditions on Digital ID Guarantee: SunCorp , CorPam, firstcorpcu, secorp, kycorp,volcorp, tricorp, etc.
To register for an APEX/ACH event, you must agree to 2008 APEX/ACH Digital ID Terms and Conditions.
The security for this site includes a layer of protection that lets you know you are accessing the intended Web site. The registration process is simple and takes only a short time to complete.
All contents © 2007-2008 APEX-ACH Secured Web Based Payments, Central C.U
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