Resources
Copyrights © All Rights Reserved by eFraud Prevention, LLC
Why eFraud Prevention?
ROI Calculators Latest Fraud Statistics Opportunities for Financial Institutions Client Success ManualWho We Support
Marketing Digital / Social Media Business Development Fraud Investigators / CyberSecurity Risk / Compliance Operations Finance / HRMore Resources
See In Action Client Dashboard 2-Minute Explainer Video Documentation & Brochures Frequently Asked Questions More Marketing Features
The financial industry's leading consumer fraud prevention awareness platform.
We review everything that is happening in the world of fraud. We manage and update your awareness program to reinforce your message of compassion and security expertise. Helping you to easily maintain content that is relevant now and in the ever-changing future.
Explaining the Risks.
Even with stronger technology controls, employees working from home must still exercise good judgment to maintain information security. The added stress many people feel can make them more prone to social-engineering attacks. Some employees may notice that their behavior isn't monitored as it is in the office and therefore choose to engage in practices that open them to other threats, such as visiting malicious websites that office networks block. Building a "human firewall" will help ensure that employees who work from home do their part to keep the enterprise secure.
Replacing Content.
Today, content needs to be reviewed and updated to reinforce your message of compassion and security. We help you publish new "evergreen content" that is relevant now and in the ever-changing future. Consistency is key as 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content each day.
Reinvention of Authority.
Most consumers now believe that financial institutions are an authority capable of protecting them from fraud. Consumer awareness that is both in-person & online is critical to maintaining account holder satisfaction, fighting attrition, and gaining exposure to new prospects. As you continue to expand your brand experience across multiple channels, we offer an opportunity to optimize the customer / member experience.
Looking Ahead.
As consumers quickly embrace the digital economy, your competitive landscape expands. Our service is built to last as you future-proof your foundation in this new world of ever-changing and agile strategic planning.
Content Syndication.
The use of identical or similar content across multiple channels is strategic repurposing that not only reduces the time and expense it takes to develop content, but also helps you reach a wider range of personas across all the channels you use.
Increasing Awareness.
The internet is inundated with notoriously unreliable information, and account holders may not know what information is reliable. You know the threats, but they may not. Increasing awareness is crucial.
Serve, Don't Sell.
Today's best practices include offering content with real value. Everything you share should offer a benefit to whomever is on the receiving end. Fraud awareness is an opportunity to serve others and to build true human connections. The more complex and challenging our world becomes, the more welcome it is to come across as a company who is genuinely interested in helping others.
Late Adaptors.
A long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will be changes in customer / member servicing preferences. Consumers are increasingly looking to run their financial life through apps and online banking. Fraud risks will increase as more people embrace convenience technologies such as P2P Payments and Mobile Apps, especially for late-adaptors and older generations of consumers.
Virtual Fraud Support.
As more people shift to virtual working, consuming, and socializing will fuel a massive shift to virtual activity for everything. It will affect ways of communicating in person as it relates to fraud support.
Platform Modernization.
Helping consumers solve problems themselves. Enabling your customers and members to access content without interruption is essential.
Up and Running in Minutes.
Save time and remove any bottlenecks to productivity. Our service collects no data and or requires user permissions. This lessens your IT department's burden since your users don't need to request access. Freeing up IT's time to focus on more business-critical tasks.
Vendor & Labor Optimization.
IT demands are escalating while pressures to keep costs down are intensifying. Outsourcing will bring IT cost down while increasing productivity gains.
Cost & Efficiency.
Helpdesk and end-user support costs are reduced by automating common requests. Digital disruption continues to change the banking landscape and puts pressure on the traditional banking model. We are part of the new dynamic environment for highly efficient IT delivery.
Service & Support.
A long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will be changes in customer servicing preferences. Consumers are increasingly looking to run their financial life through apps and online banking. Our cloud-based service is designed to support you as consumers change their habits.
Strategic Planning.
The "New Normal" is going to be a world of uncertainty. Saving money and avoiding the hazards of losing money to scammers will be more important than ever before.
Risk Resilience.
The speed of reacting to a crisis has triggered new risks such as being unprepared for a locked-down economy. With eFraud Prevention™ you won't have to scramble to adjust since there is no need to building alternative models for fraud support and awareness.
Client Success Manual
This 3-page manual is designed to keep everyone on track with goals, roles, and a checklist to make sure you are leveraging our service to the full potential.
ROI Calculators
On average, the annual cost of eFraud Prevention pays for itself when helping as few as 8 of your account holders or employees to avoid getting scammed. In addition, we help save you time with your fraud awareness outreach, account holder support, and marketing. about how much time and money can save with eFraud Prevention™.
Easy Social Postings
Written as easy-to-follow "To-Do's", we made it easy for you to save time by simply choosing any trending and important topic to share and assist with your marketing outreach.
Client Dashboard Redesign
We redesigned and added more features to our integration and employee support dashboard.
Up-To-Date Content: We now have seven ways for you to access content for your Web site, Blog, Social Media, Email Newsletters, Print, etc.
- By Fraud Category
- What's Trending
- What's Most Popular
- By Demographic Age
- Social Media Ready Posts
- Search Specific Topic
- Small Business Topics
The annual costs for eFraud Prevention™ pays for itself by helping as few as eight people to avoid becoming victimized by Imposter Fraud, Identity Theft, Check Fraud, Online Fraud, or Telephone and Mobile Scams. Our service helps everyone in your organization including: Marketing, Digital / Social Media, Business Development, Fraud Investigators / CyberSecurity, Risk / Compliance, Operations, Finance / HR.
How our service works for you and your account holders:
Streamline your fraud awareness.
Consumer awareness that is both in-person & online is critical to maintaining account holder satisfaction, fighting attrition, and gaining exposure to new prospects. We help you distribute information with actionable measures and practices to spot and stop scams.
In this era of social engineering fraud, consumers are more fearful than ever and they're putting more trust in their financial institution to protect them from fraud scams and identity theft. People expect their financial institutions to improve their defenses against fraudulent actors looking to steal, sell or use their PII.
Visit us online by efraudprevention.com
Customized to your brand style guide.
What's Included
Website Portal
Choose from our designs or fully customized based on your corporate style guides. Portals work with any web site code or application including HTML 5, Bootstrap, WordPress, Drupal, Joomla. Etc.
- All-in-one portal - Includes all components for both consumer and commercial account holders.
- Consumer only portal.
- Small business portal.
- Help desk / victim assistance portal.
- Fraud search portal.
- Remote worker portal.
- News & alerts portal.
E-Learning Modules
Our Online Education Modules contain a combination of video tutorials, how-to articles and online quizzes to best provide a complete e-learning experience. Both your small business and consumer account holders will quickly understand and learn how to stay safe "Fraud Smart".
- Over 100 fraud awareness articles with over 1,000 tips.
- 16 Online interactive quizzes.
- Over 50 educational videos.
Intranet Portal
Secure portal to provide up-to-date information and resources for Marketing, Fraud, and Operations.
- Content syndication - Content for writing articles that do not require attribution. Content can be used for you existing web site security section, Blog, social media, employee awareness, print, email, SMS, etc.
- Strategic repurposing - Use our content across multiple channels to reduce the time and expense it takes to develop content from scratch.
24/7 Help Desk / Victim Assistance
- Urgent assistance.
- How and where to report any type of fraud.
- What to do if documents, credentials or PII is lost or stolen.
- Government, legal, credit, and advocacy resources.
- Online testing tools.
Social Media Ready Posts
All content is designed to easily post with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn
- Facebook security section tab.
- Ready-made short to-do lists.
- MP4 Video animations.
- MP4 awareness videos.
Online Learning
Online quizzes that cover all aspects of fraud prevention.
- Provides a score at completion.
- Provides explanations for incorrect responses.
Videos
Videos are a component of the Education Portals as well as useful for social media and training seminars.
- Consumer videos.
- Small business videos.
IMPAXEON Features
- Environmental product.
- Wellness product.
Company History
Established in 2004, we are the financial industry's leading consumer fraud prevention awareness platform.
At eFraud Prevention™ | IMPAXEON™ we are making a difference in what concerns everybody the most. Financial safety, wellness, and the preservation of our planet. With our bank and credit union partners, we are making an impact now and for the future of everyone.
Today's best practices include offering content with real value. Everything you share should offer a benefit to whomever is on the receiving end. Fraud awareness is an opportunity to serve others and to build true human connections. The more complex and challenging our world becomes, the more welcome it is to come across as a company who is genuinely interested in helping others.
Most consumers now believe that financial institutions are the authority capable of protecting them from fraud. Consumer awareness that is both in-person & online is critical to maintaining account holder satisfaction, fighting attrition, and gaining exposure to new prospects. As you continue to expand your brand experience across multiple channels, we offer an opportunity to optimize the customer / member experience.
We offer a solution that helps to fill all your marketing channels to keep everyone engaged. We curate new "evergreen content" that is relevant now and in the ever-changing future. IMPAXEON™ offers thousands of pieces of authentic, engaging content that you can then use and repurpose in print, on social media, on your website and blog, and various other marketing channels.
Established in 2004, eFraud Prevention™ has helped hundreds of public and private organizations to deliver fraud prevention awareness. Today, we are proud to be able to reach and protect millions of consumers in communities throughout all of the United States of America. In addition to our flagship eFraud Prevention™ service, we now offer a way to deliver wellness and environmental content.
IAFCI is a global network of law enforcement, card associations, banks and non-banks, private label issuers, to name a few. eFraud Prevention™ provides the bulk of consumer awareness information on the IAFCI web site. Helping with IAFCI's effort to safeguard the world's economy through teamwork.
eFraud Prevention™ was the first online service dedicated to offering consumer awareness for fraud prevention. We were an established online service before the existence of any private or government funded consumer awareness initiatives.
IAFCI is a global network of law enforcement, card associations, banks and non-banks, private label issuers, to name a few. eFraud Prevention™ provides the bulk of consumer awareness information on the IAFCI web site. Helping with IAFCI's effort to safeguard the world's economy through teamwork.
Learn more at: IAFCI.org.
Similar to eFraud Prevention™, KnowBe4 understands that employees need to be more aware of the threat landscape and should be able to recognize the red flags in cyber breach attempts. Organizations tend to see their employees as liabilities rather than as assets, who, when trained appropriately and incentivized, can be part of a more robust solution to many problems. People play an undeniable role in an organization's overall security and risk posture.
How KnowBe4 works
Your employees are frequently exposed to sophisticated social engineering attacks. It is time for a comprehensive approach to effectively manage this problem, managed by people with a technical background.
Baseline Testing
They provide baseline testing to assess the Phish-prone percentage of your users through a simulated phishing, vishing or smishing attack. Test our platform yourself for 30 days.
Train Your Users
The world's largest library of security awareness training content; including interactive modules, videos, games, posters and newsletters. Automated training campaigns with scheduled reminder emails.
Phish Your Users
Best-in-class, fully automated simulated phishing, vishing and smishing attacks, thousands of templates with unlimited usage, and community phishing templates.
See The Results
Enterprise-strength reporting. Both high-level and granular stats and graphs ready for management reports. We even have a personal timeline for each user.
Read Case Study on how Knowbe4 helps financial institutions.
Financial Institutions rely on secure, accurate, and efficient identity authentication solutions to protect themselves and their customers. Trust Stamp works with organizations on the cutting edge of financial security to do just that.
How Trust Stamp works
Synthetic Identity Detection
The Evergreen Hash™ is stored in the Trust Stamp Identity Lake and matched against all prior and future Evergreen Hashes™ to prevent duplicate identities (even those that pass KYC by using apparently valid identity documents). This process continues to catch fraudsters using the same face for multiple accounts, allowing financial institutions to give their customers and members peace of mind that their accounts and identities are safe.
KYC & AML Compliance
To address the exponential growth in KYC/AML requirements, Trust Stamp empowers businesses with a completely automated transaction including our facial biometric tools and proprietary document OCR. Trust Stamp's multi-layer, automated, risk-based process speeds the process for both institutions and customers and provides audit trails, compliance reports and fuzzy logic to identify risky transactions and potential non-compliance.
Compliance FAQs
eFraud Prevention is an established and trusted company that has been serving the financial services industry since 2004. Throughout that time, eFraud Prevention has never had a security incident, data breach, or customer complaint. In addition, we have always passed our third-party penetration tests, server intrusion test and vulnerability audits. Our service is integrated within many large U.S. financial institution web sites as well as the leading organization for financial crime investigators (iafci.org).
Firewall Security:
IONOS by 1and1 - eFraud Prevention is hosted at IONOS by 1and1 on dedicated "bare-metal" server. We are the only 'tenant' on that server as it is not shared between other IONOS hosting customers. Unlike many servers in a data centers today, we are not being shared between multiple customers. All web traffic first enters the IONOS server facility before it enters our web server. Our Bare-metal Server account comes with a Firewall Policy center, which lets us control access to which ports are whitelisted on our dedicated web server. At the data center entry level, we block all traffic except for the 8 most commonly used server ports.
Cloudflare - Cloudflare Firewall software is managed within our "bare-metal" server as an additional layer of protection to filter HTTP requests. This allows gives us added security and control over which requests reach our server applications.
Product Integration:
We offer many ways to use or integrate our product. This includes iFrame, EMBED, JavaScript, RSS, PHP, and direct web link. Our service is also used by many clients as an internal "go-to" content hub for marketing content (articles, victim resources, images, videos, online quizzes, news, animations) employee training and customer / member support. This of course would pose no security concerns at all.
Common security concerns regarding the use of IFRAME integration:
Our most common integration method is the "iframe". The "iframe" method of integration is our most commonly used integration method. The iFrame is still the popular form of third-party web site integration and is used by firms such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and countless others.Security concerns regarding the iframe method include:
- The use of IFRAME by an untrusted source - eFraud Prevention is an established U.S firm that is vetted, trusted, and has served the financial services industry since 2004.
- Cross Site Scripting Attacks (XXS) - Our service and secure site is not vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting. In addition, our service does not include any web application that allows for user input.
- SQL Injection Attacks - Our service and secure site is not vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting. In addition, our service does not include any web application that allows for user input.
We monitor our web servers and server software 24/7 constantly and run third party scans. You can run your own pentest by using this domain:
https://efraudprevention.net/home/
Additional Processes:
- Databases: Requires complex password and two-factor authentication.
- Content Management System: Requires complex password and two-factor authentication.
- Patches / Updates: All software updates are set to install automatically.
- Anti-Virus: Set at both the network and at the server level.
- Denial of Service: Set at the network level.
- Content Integrity: Content is monitored every hour using server-side software and every 5 minutes using a 3rd party service to provide us with alerts if any unintended content changes occur.
The FFIEC, FINRA, FDIC and NCUA all recommend that financial institution increase consumer education as an effective method of reducing fraud. eFraud Prevention™, LLC was established in 2004 just for this purpose and we are the first service of its kind to offer fraud prevention consumer awareness as a service. We remain the only private company where consumer education is the sole product offering and not as an ancillary service to other product & services.
How we satisfy regulatory requirements for consumer education:
- Offer more fraud prevention resources
- Reach more people across more channels
- Offer real-time advice
- Resolve more questions in less time
- 2-way customer engagement
- 24-hour support
- Provide easier way to report fraud
- Publish timely fraud alerts
- Assist with I.D. theft
- Small business support
Pricing is based on the total assets of your financial institution.
Your total ANNUAL COST for our service is approximately:
$2.40 per 1 million in total assets
Learn more HERE
eFraud Prevention™ does not collect, capture, store, or resell data any data. This includes your specific web site traffic analytics, member or customer information or usage. Absolutely no data is collected, stored or sold by eFraud Prevention™.
eFraud Prevention™ does not resell any services and does not work with any third party firms to generate additional revenue through it's service.
eFraud Prevention™ was established in Connecticut in 2004.
Yes.
Daily.
If you are an eFraud Prevention™ customer, all articles and online quizzes are royalty free and no attribution is required. The eFraud Prevention™ education materials can be used as content for your Web site, print materials, social media content of other electronic forms of communications.
The eFraud Prevention™ consumer portal is designed to be "responsive" and will fit within any dimensions of your web site without have to be re-coded. We do also offer the option for customization if you prefer a different color scheme or the removal of specific content.
eFraud Prevention™, LLC started in 2004 as a spin off from an established Internet consulting firm. Our knowledge of the Internet and the world wide web began in 1995 and continues to the present day. All our consumer education articles are written in-house by our experts and are free for our clients to reproduce, distribute and display. In addition, no attribution to eFraud Prevention™, LLC is required when reproducing, distributing and displaying our consumer education articles.
eFraud Prevention™, LLC attends industry workshops, consults with industry peers, reviews blogs, publications, white papers, newsletters & web site articles from a wide variety of sources to maintain continued education and learning. eFraud Prevention™, LLC does not copy or redistribute any text or images contained on these sites.
eFraud Prevention™, LLC does not require a signed contract or time committment obligations. Everyone is required to follow the "terms of use" that are published on this web site.
Watch out for Coronavirus scams
- Don't click on links from sources you don't know.
- Make sure the anti-malware and anti-virus software on your computer is up to date.
- Watch for emails claiming to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or experts saying that have information about the virus.
- For the most up-to-date information about the Coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
- Ignore online offers for vaccinations.
- Do your homework when it comes to donations, whether through charities or crowdfunding sites.
- Be alert to "investment opportunities" that claim prevention, detection, or cure coronavirus and that the stock of these companies will dramatically increase in value as a result.
Avoid online classifieds scams
- Stay local.
- Avoid P2P payments, gift cards, wire transfers, cashiers's check, money orders as payment methods.
- Cash is the only secure currency for Craigslist transactions.
- Be cautious when using online escrow.
- Don't commit without seeing goods in person.
- Don't fall for job scams.
- Use a counterfeit pen detection pen.
- Most online marketplace do not certify listings.
- Research the buyer or seller.
- Don't give out personal information.
- Trust your instincts.
Tips for analyzing news sources
- Avoid websites that end in "lo".
- Watch out for websites that end in ".com.co"
- Watch out if known/reputable news sites are not also reporting on the story.
- Odd domain names generally equal odd and rarely truthful news.
- Look of author attribution.
- Check the "About Us" tab on websites.
- If the story makes you really angry, it may not be 100% true.
- Avoid anything that encourages you to share negative or harmful information about an individual or organization.
- Read multiple sources of information to get a variety of viewpoints.
Security tips for small business network
- Set clear administrator privileges.
- Secure your private network.
- Secure endpoints.
- Monitor the network.
- Maintain firewalls.
- Establish intrusion detection and prevention systems.
- Protect remote access.
- Isolate guest wireless local area network (WLAN).
- Use encryption programs.
- Define and practice continuity plans/disaster recovery.
8 ways to avoid mobile text spam
- Delete text messages that ask you to confirm or provide personal information.
- Don't reply, and don't click on links provided in the message.
- Treat your personal information like cash.
- Report spam texts to your carrier by forwarding them to 7726 (SPAM), free of charge.
- Review your cell phone bill for unauthorized charges, and report them to your carrier.
- Call your carrier's customer service number (usually 611) and instruct them to "Block all text messages sent to you as email" and "Block all multimedia messages sent to you as email."
- Check with your mobile provider about other options to block future spam messages.
- Set up and use a free email account that's only for things like promotions, contests, and the like.
8 Ways to avoid wire fraud
- Verify every wire request.
- Review emails and verify instructions.
- Advise buyers to Not Accept Wiring Instruction Changes.
- Verify the authenticity of wiring instructions sent from a free email service.
- Don't use free email accounts.
- Beware of unusual activity.
- Don't send wires overseas.
- Regularly change your passwords.
Remove this from your social profile
- Your date of birth, including the year.
- The date of birth of your family, including the year.
- Your phone number.
- Your physical address.
- The name of your high school.
- Your pets name.
Email phishing safety tips
- Understand how your financial institution communicates with you.
- Clues that an email is fake can include: poor spelling, grammatical errors, offer of a reward, typos, information request, threatening tone.
- Always be skeptical of attachments.
- Technology-based security measures such as firewalls, encryption, anti-virus, spam filters, and strong authentication will NOT prevent social engineering fraud.
- If you receive an email from a friend or trusted source, it is NOT always safe to click on a link or attachment within that email.
- It is NOT always safe to click a link as long as the link is through a popular search site like Yahoo, Google or Bing.
- Access web sites by typing the address of a web site directly into your Web browser.
- Be aware of tech support scams are very popular. gh the e-mail originated from a different source.
- Be skeptical when there are big news events happening.
- If you are unsure about a link in your email, do NOT copy and paste the link in your web browser.
- If you are unsure about a link in your email, it is NOT safe to forward the link to have it tested by someone else.
- Criminals could strike very quickly when major news events occur.
- Be aware of web site extensions.
Human traits that help scammers
- You respect authority. Many scammers impersonate the police, IRS, Social Security agent, etc.
- You trust people. It is good practice to always be skeptical.
- You are confident so your guard is down.
- You've fallin for a scam before.
- You're friendly.
- You are under stress.
- You're lonely.
Every day fraud habits
- If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is!
- You should not have to pay a fee of any sort to claim a legitimate prize.
- Never pay to play in a sweepstakes or to claim a prize.
- Do NOT give out prepaid or gift card serial # off the back of the card.
- Never give out credit card numbers unless you initiated the call or order.
- Never give out your Social Security number or bank account number over the phone.
- Do not carry your Social Security card or Medicare card in your wallet.
- Keep sensitive documents at home in a locked file cabinet.
- Only give to charities you know.
- Never let yourself be rushed into a "deal."
Telemarketing warning signs
- You must act 'now' or the offer won't be good.
- You've won a 'free' gift, vacation, or prize.
- You must send money, give a credit card or bank account number, or have a check picked up by courier.
- You don't need to check out the company with anyone.
- You don't need any written information about their company or their references.
- You can't afford to miss this 'high-profit, no-risk' offer.
10 tips to avoid investment fraud
- Don't be a courtesy victim.
- Don't be rushed - check it out.
- Always stay in charge of your money.
- Always watch over and protect your nest egg.
- Never judge a person's integrity by how they look or sound.
- Watch out for salespeople that prey on your fears.
- Exercise particular caution if you have limited or no experience handling money.
- Monitor your investments and ask tough questions.
- Look for trouble retrieving your principal or cashing out profits.
- Don't let embarrassment or fear keep you from reporting investment fraud or abuse.
Mobile text safety tips
- Don't trust caller ID.
- Register your number with the National Do Not Call registry at donotcall.gov
- Delete text messages that ask you to confirm or provide personal information.
- Don't respond to any message asking about 2FA verification codes.
- Don't fall for texts from your network which ask for details.
- Don't reply with "STOP" if you're being spammed - contact your network instead.
- Set your phone to block apps from unknown sources.
- Don't fall for texts from your bank or credit union which ask for "confirmation details".
- Don't fall for warnings saying, "Your phone is infected".
- Be very suspicious of "special offers" - especially ones where you have to "act fast".
- High-value "special offers" that sound too good to be true usually are.
- If you see a "business" phone number in a text, it's no guarantee it's real.
Warning signs of identity theft
- Debt collectors call you about debts that aren't yours.
- You get bills or statements in the mail for new accounts you haven't opened.
- You get increased direct mail or phone solicitations for expensive items.
- You haven't received one or more of your regular monthly bills or mail is missing.
- You notice unfamiliar charges on your credit or debit cards.
- You are denied credit when applying for financing or new credit cards, even though your credit is good.
- You get a new credit card in the mail that you didn't apply for.
- You see withdrawals from your bank account that you can't explain.
- You can't log on to your online accounts because your password has been changed.
- Tax refund check arrives before you file.
- Arrest warrants for crimes you didn't commit.
- Your Social Security statement shows errors such as your reported earnings are inflated.
Stay safe on social media
- Don't trust that a message is really from who it says it's from.
- Use caution when you click links that you receive in messages from your friends on your social website.
- Do not allow social networking services to scan your email address book.
- Always type the address of your social networking site directly into your browser, use your personal bookmarks or official mobile apps.
- Be selective about who you accept as a friend on a social network. With a smaller social network you can keep unwanted solicitations, invites to connect, applications and spam to a minimum.
- Choose your social network carefully and make sure you understand the privacy policy and use privacy settings.
- Assume that everything you put on a social networking site is permanent.
- Be careful about installing third-party applications in your social profile.
- Search yourself onlinw to know where you show up and what information is readily available online about you.
- Do not accept a social media connection request from a stranger.
Card safety when traveling
- Let your credit card company and financial institution know about your trip.
- Avoid ATMs & point of sale machines.
- Don't use a debit card for purchases.
- Always carry back-up cash.
- Be on your guard, and don't place too much trust in overly-helpful stranger.
- Carry your cards in a safe way. Wallets and purses around a shoulder can be targets, and a backpack can be easily looked through while you're not paying attention.
- Make a copy of the fronts and backs of your cards and keep with you in a safe place.
- Keep a separate note that contains the emergency contact details and international customer service numbers of your card issuer.
- Limit your cards & know your credit limit. Choose the best credit card for your travels, and bring one or two.
- Check if your credit card is accepted and choose a U.S. credit card that's widely accepted abroad.
- Write down the international customer service number for your card(s).
- Keep a receipt for your purchases and check your statements regularly while you're still traveling.
- Act fast if your card is stolen.
Safe online shopping
- Search the Internet safely & type the retailer's URL into the address bar on your web browser.
- Pay for your online order using a credit card.
- Don't give out your credit card number(s) online unless the site is a secure and reputable site.
- Check on your credit card and bank statements often.
- Dedicate a computer & email address to online shopping.
- Manage and protect your online passwords.
- Beware of using public Wi-Fi and access eCommerce sites via your cellular network.
- Don't judge a person/company by their web site.
- Be cautious when responding to special offers and when dealing from outside your own country.
- Make sure the transaction is secure when you electronically send your credit card numbers.
- Double check pricing. Be suspicious of prices that are too good to be true.
Protect online accounts
- Enroll into E-Statements.
- Create strong passwords and user IDs, change them frequently, and don't use the same ones for all your accounts.
- Monitor your credit reports and credit score.
- Don't give out vital data like Social Security and bank account numbers to strangers calling over the phone.
- Consider buying identity-theft insurance through your financial institution.
- Make sure you aren't receiving unsolicited credit cards or collection notices for products and services you never purchased.
- Review account activity check your last login date.
- Get Account Alerts from your financial institution or brokerage firms.
- Don't use your account on an unknown computer.
- Register Your Computer.
- Exercise caution when clicking on websites and emails.
- Explore putting a lock or a freeze on your credit reports compiled by Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.
- Don't use your personal computer at work.
- Shred or securely store your paper bank statements.
ATM & Point of Sale safety
- As always be mindful of your surroundings throughout the entire transaction.
- Do not use an ATM that appears unusual looking or offers options with which you are not familiar or comfortable.
- When using a walk-up ATM, park as close as you can to the machine.
- Don't proceed with a transaction if your card encounters resistance when it is inserted.
- Keep a close eye on your bank and credit accounts.
- Check your online statements regularly to make sure there are no suspicious charges.
- Be wary if your card gets stuck in a chip reader.
- Use contactless payment methods.
- Use ATMs in banks rather than more vulnerable standalones.
- Cover the keypad with your hand when entering your PIN.
- Use a credit card at Checkouts or ATMs that look 'Off'.
Debit card safety
- Don't use a debit card online or with phone orders.
- With a big ticket item, a credit card is safer.
- Use a credit card when renting something that requires a deposit.
- Always pay at your table when dining out.
- If you're a first-time customer in a store, skip the debit card the first couple of times you buy.
- Use a credit card buying now but taking delivery later.
- Do not use the debit card for recurring charges.
- Use a credit card when booking your travel.
- Use a credit card at Gas Stations and Hotels.
- Use a credit card at Checkouts or ATMs that look 'Off'.
How to protect your checking account
- Make sure your checks are endorsed by your financial institution.
- Store your checks, deposit slips, bank statements and canceled checks in a secure and locked location.
- Never leave your checkbook in your vehicle or in the open.
- Reconcile your bank statement within 30 days of receipt.
- Never give your account number to people you do not know.
- Unless needed for tax purpose, destroy old canceled checks, account statements, deposit tickets, and ATM receipts.
- When you receive your check order, make sure all of the checks are there.
- If your home is burglarized, check your supply of checks to determine if any have been stolen.
- If someone pays you with a cashier's check, have them accompany you to the bank to cash it.
- Do not mail bills from your mailbox at night.
- Limit the amount of personal information on your check.
- Don't leave blank spaces on the payee and amount lines.
- Use gel ink pens when signing your checks.
- Don't write your credit card number on the check.
- Use your own pre-printed deposit slips.
- Don't make a check payable to cash.
- Never endorse a check until you are ready to cash or deposit it.
What to do if email is hacked
- Update your system and delete any malware.
- Review social media accounts.
- Change your passwords.
- Contact other online services.
- Notify people you know.
- Change your security questions.
- Report the hack.
- Contact credit agencies.
- Consider your ID protection options.
- Review all email accounts.
- Create a new email account.
Mobile banking safety tips
- Always lock mobile devices.
- Only use official routes to communicate with financial institutions.
- Be aware of connection services.
- Be careful what you download.
- Set up your phone to encrypt data.
- Download anti-virus software and enable firewall protection for your cell phone.
- Never respond to email messages from your financial institution that request personal information.
- Be skeptical about text messages.
- Sign Off When Done.
- If you lose your mobile device or change your mobile phone number, remove the old number from your mobile banking profile ASAP.
- Contact your mobile carrier ASAP for assistance in handling your lost or stolen phone / device.
Keeping your mail safe
- Limit Exposure by utilizing online conveniences like eStatements, online bill pay, direct deposit and online banking.
- You should opt out of receiving credit card and insurance offers.
- Lock your mailbox.
- Trim shrubbery to keep your mailbox as visible as possible, eliminating hiding places for thieves.
- Replace a wall-mounted mailbox with a mail slot.
- Buy a security mailbox.
- Get a post office box.
- Pick up mail promptly.
Social networking at work
- Find out if your company has a policy about visiting certain Web sites using your corporate network.
- When you sign up for a social networking site, use your personal e-mail address, not your company e-mail address.
- Use caution when you click links that you receive in messages from your friends on your social networking site.
- Treat links in messages on these sites as you would links in e-mail messages.
- Be choosy about who you accept as a "friend" on a social network.
- Be careful about the information you reveal about your workplace or company.
Clues that your identity has been stolen
- Debt collectors call you about debts that aren't yours.
- Merchants claim you owe them money for items or services you never purchased.
- Merchants refuse your checks.
- Merchandise arrives at your home that you didn't order.
- You get bills or statements in the mail for new accounts you haven't opened.
- You get increased direct mail or phone solicitations for expensive items.
- You haven't received one or more of your regular monthly bills or mail is missing.
- You notice unfamiliar charges on your credit or debit cards.
- You are denied credit when applying for financing or new credit cards, even though your credit is good.
- You get a new credit card in the mail that you didn't apply for.
- Your credit score is rising - a rising credit score can mean fraudsters are trying to extend credit in your name.
- An employer denies you a job based on a bad background check, even though you know your record is clean.
- You see withdrawals from your bank account that you can't explain.
- You can't log on to your email or social media accounts because your password has been changed.
- You get notice that your information was compromised by a data breach.
- Tax refund check arrives before you file.
- You receive a tax transcript in the mail that you didn't request or the IRS notifies you that more than one tax return was filed in your name.
- Arrest warrants for crimes you didn't commit.
- You receive tax documents from an employer you never worked for.
- Your Social Security statement shows errors such as your reported earnings are inflated.
Stay safe on Facebook
To protect yourself from scammers and stay safe on Facebook
- Avoid people asking you for money who you don't know in person.
- People asking you for advance fees in order to receive a loan, prize or other winnings.
- Do not move your conversation off of Facebook (example: a separate email address).
- Be wary of people claiming to be a friend or relative in an emergency.
- Watch out for poor spelling and grammatical mistakes.
- Do not "friend" strangers.
- Do not click on unsolicited links, and report suspicious requests.
- Do not pay for anything with gift cards.
- Do not engage with any government agency or bank through Facebook.
- Avoid people or accounts directing you to a page to claim a prize.
- When talking to a new Facebook friend, call the friend offline to make sure you're communicating with your actual friend.
- Report any impostor accounts to Facebook.
Safety tips before you go on vacation
- Leave checkbooks and checks at home, in a locked safe.
- Leave bills at home.
- Don't take anything in your wallet or purse that is not absolutely necessary.
- Put your mail on hold. Learn more at: https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail
- Make your home look lived-in.
- If you have someone that is going to check the house and has a key to your house, then lock up any documents with account numbers or Social Security Numbers.
- Register in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at https://step.state.gov/step/
- Scan important travel documents and store them in a secure online repository.
- Leave your debit card at home. Make credit cards, not ATM cards, your card of choice.
- Minimize number of credit cards in wallet. No more than two (2).
- Place all the removed items above into a locked safe.
- Pay bills before you go out of town.
- Stop delivery of newspapers or any other items you may normally have delivered (water, automatically scheduled deliveries of products, etc).
- Make copies of your itinerary, passport data page, visas and driver's license to leave with designated emergency contact.
- Notify a neighbor to watch your house. Let them know you are not moving.
- Go through your wallet, purse and/or briefcase and remove any of the following items prior to travel: Social Security card, Check book & deposit slips, Birth certificate, Credit card receipts, Bills, Extra Credit Cards, Library card
Safety tips when traveling
- Don't leave important documents in your car.
- Never leave your personal documents unsecured in the hotel rooms.
- Beware of pickpockets.
- Carry valuables safely.
- Watch out for shoulder surfers.
- Carry photocopies of all travel documents including plane tickets, hotel reservations and passports.
- Public restrooms. Ladies, do not hang your purse from a hook on the door.
- Don't place valuable information on computers.
- Beware of your surroundings.
- Be prepared to deal with a lost or stolen passport case.
- Don't check-in your personal documentation.
- Avoid identity theft when you visit the gym.
- Watch your belongings on the plane.
- Travel with your items in the security chain.
- Take caution with public computers and Wi-Fi.
- Be aware of social media updates that show you are not home.
Pet adoption scams
Avoid becoming a victim to a pet adoption scam, there are several steps you should take:
- Skip the pure breed puppy requirement and adopt from a local shelter.
- Always meet your future pet in person before paying.
- Beware of any seller who says she's located out-of-town (or worse, overseas).
- Never wire money for any purchase.
- Do your research.
- Check references.
- Don't trust "free pet" offers.
- Make sure their pet shipper is legitimate.
Online dating "Romance Scams"
Long-distance love DOES happen - but be wary and don't be a victim. Check out these tips and take them to heart:
- If you're suspicious, Google the message text he/she sends you.
- Don't be ashamed to 'play detective'.
- If their photos are really glossy, be afraid.
- Don't hand over information bit by bit.
- Don't share 'racy' photos with people you have not met.
- If your 'lover' sends you a photo which you need to click on, worry.
- Stick to reputable dating sites.
- Don't be persuaded to switch to another social network, email or IM.
- If you think, "It's all happening so fast!" It's time to worry.
- Watch for consistently poor spelling or grammar.
- Be suspicious if the person claims he or she is from your area, but states they are unable to meet you in person.
- If the other person is sharing information about themselves, be aware if details in their stories change.
- Never agree if the person asks you to use your own bank account to process checks or electronic money transfers for what ever reason.
- Be aware that scammers will ask lots of questions about what you believe to be your ideal relationship and then present themselves in that way to you.
- If friends or family express concern about the relationship, it is wise to heed their warnings.
- Never purchase an airline ticket and fly to a foreign country to meet someone who has requested money from you.
- Always tell family or friends if you are going to meet someone from a dating site and always meet first in a public place.
- Do not send money, ever.
Credit repair fraud
How to tell if a credit repair company is fraudulent.
- They tell you to give false information on your applications for credit or a loan.
- Claims to be able to create a new credit report.
- Claims to know a secret loophole.
- Only accepts cash.
- Doesn't have a physical address.
- Promises to delete bad credit.
- The don't explain your legal rights when they tell you what they can do for you.
- You're asked to sign a form waiving your rights under the CROA.
- They charge fees up front.
- They try to guarantee a credit score gain.
- They tell you not to talk to a credit reporting company.
- They don't or won't tell you what you can do for free.
- They won't tell you how you can cancel.
- They call you, you don't call them.
- You aren't given a copy of the contract to view before you're asked to sign it.
- Tells you to dispute information in your credit report.
- The company promises to create or asks you to create, a "new" identity with a new social security number or federal employer identification number (EIN).
Employment and work from home scams
- Never provide sensitive financial or personal information.
- Don't agree to have your earnings direct deposited into your bank accounts from any new or unknown employer.
- Never agree to a wire transfer of any sort.
- Be wary of any recruiter who asks for money from you upfront in return for finding you a job or providing job leads.
- Reject job postings or emails that state that no experience or expertise is required for the position.
- Carefully examine the email details of unsolicited job offers.
- Request more details from prospective employers who provide little or no details in their job postings or emails.
- Ignore postings that guarantee you a job - especially ones that guarantee you a postal or government civil servant job.
- Don't be swayed by amazing testimonials or money-back guarantees.
- Research all job opportunities.
2021 Fraud Predictions - During and post pandemic
- Imposter Scams: Imposter scams involve criminals contacting consumers and attempting to obtain personal and banking information by impersonating agencies that are associated with COVID-19 or the U.S. government. These include, but are not limited to, the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control, Internal Revenue Service, and other agencies. Most recently, scammers have been targeting consumer unemployment benefits and small business loans, as well as posing as contact tracers and utility companies to trick people into providing personal information and funds. Criminals will attempt to exploit consumers through many channels, including email, SMS messaging, messaging services like WhatsApp, and even through direct calls to consumers. Scammers posing as contact tracers may ask for money, a consumer's social security number, financial information, or immigration status.
The risk associated with these types of scams is the exposure of data that could be used by cyber criminals to move money or obtain sensitive personal data such as Social Security numbers and bank account information. It is important for financial institutions to help raise awareness of these types of scams, both internally with your employees and externally with your account holders. Risk management teams should also increase monitoring of transactions to COVID-19-related agencies. Your institution may be able to help identify concerns and take action before account holders are even aware that they've been duped. - Covid-19 Malicious Apps: The internet is full of coronavirus scams. Some fraudsters will try to get passwords to email accounts and other sites; others will try to get ransomware onto the user's mobile or PC. The most dangerous scams, though, leverage the coronavirus pandemic to scare users into installing the malicious applications. Once installed on a device, these apps are built to download and install malware to monitor the device and steal banking credentials and personal information. Apps features can include: contact-tracing, tracking, coronavirus scanning, live monitoring, information, etc.
- The Return of the Money Mule: Account Takeover (ATO) fraud typically requires cashing out the victim's account through a local money mule. Mule recruitment was at an all-time high in 2008-2009 when people were victimized or willfully participated in work-from-home scams. With so many Americans unemployed right now, mule recruitment should be even easier - and will fuel the dark economy.
- Fraudulent Credit Card Accounts: With many people experiencing a drop in income, those who can get new credit lines are expected to do so - but the only way open for them is through their credit card website. This means an overall increase in online credit card applications. Fraudsters are likely to try to leverage the trend since increased activity and credit defaults will make it harder to identity fraudulent account openings and take longer to investigate suspect cases.
- Reduced Customer Loyalty: The current pandemic has created hording or demands that have emptied store shelves as well as most online marketplaces. Many people are turning to non-vetted third-party applications or online marketplaces to find these essentials. These lesser known sites can have poor security or may be fraudulent.
- Security for the "Phygital" shopping experience: Blending the elements of both a physical (curbside pickup, displaying your photo ID) and digital (selecting inventory and submitting payment, multifactor authentication) shopping experience together The combined online and in-store shopping habits are here to stay for the long term.
- More Social Engineering for Authorized Push Payments (APP): These scams are extremely effective and defeat all controls such as authentication, device, and location analysis. Criminals just need to persuade people into authorizing a payment to them. These include criminals impersonating a member of bank staff or a police officer and claiming there has been fraudulent activity on an account and that money needs to be transferred to a different account; impersonating a supplier or contractor, sending a fake invoice to a business, online auctions and classifieds scams, and investment scams.
- Contactless Shopping: As social distancing measures remain intact across the country, contactless shopping has encouraged consumers to use mobile apps for food and groceries that they otherwise may not have. With nearly three out of four Americans considering their online shopping transactions secure, there's a real sense of complacency, and a lack of digital security awareness. This uptick in activity signifies a change in users' digital behaviors, which serve as a major indicator to fraudsters that an open opportunity for hacking may be on the horizon. Given consumers most likely have a high number of online shopping accounts (with the same password, in most cases) that store their critical personal data, this information can easily become available for cybercriminals. These fraudsters now have the ability to implement elaborate scams to access consumers' accounts, bypassing standard security measures.
- Remote Working: Adapting existing controls to the remote working environment, the use of data and analytics in monitoring risks, and the proper balance between human and technological oversight will become more important as the 'new normal' takes hold. Compliance with regulatory controls should remain high priority for businesses, otherwise they create opportunity for criminals and risk regulatory investigations, leading to fiscal and reputational damages in the future. For many businesses, existing training on preventing wire fraud and other criminal attacks will need to be reinforced.
- Charity Scams: One of the most disheartening online trends has been the effort to steal funds from individuals who are sympathetic to a cause and who willingly give money to what they think is an organization that is aligned with their beliefs. In charity scams, criminals have begun to impersonate nonprofits affiliated with the pandemic or civil rights organization. To mitigate this type of risk, internal and external awareness is, once again, a major defense for this kind of scam. Armed with information, consumers can make more informed decisions about their charitable giving. For your organization's risk teams, increased monitoring of outgoing funds to pandemic-related charities may help identify this type of activity.
- Product Scams: Possibly the most difficult of scams to identify and measure are those related to product purchases. These scams are difficult to pinpoint because the scam involves selling consumer products with questionable or no efficacy. This can include products that appear to be for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, cures, or home testing kits. Even if the capabilities of the product are not backed by measurable and repeatable results, the buyer themselves may perceive the benefits of the product. Given the variables involved with these product claims and the subjective nature involved with how the product works for each buyer, raising awareness with consumers is once again the most powerful defense.
- Investment Scams: COVID-19 investment scams are luring consumers into investing by claiming that their stocks will sharply increase as a direct result of the effect their products will have on the pandemic. Individuals who invest in these scams have a substantial risk of being involved in a "pump and dump" investment scheme. These scams can be effectively perpetrated through online messaging channels and direct call channels, and once again, awareness is the best defense. Informing account holders about these types of schemes may keep them from purchasing these risky investments.
© eFraud Prevention, LLC. Additional sources for this article include: Total Retail, Loss Prevention Magazine, UK Finance Limited, Informa Tech, and Computer Weekly.
2020 Fraud Predictions
- Deep fake technology for identity fraud: This technology will be used to attack call centers and for business email compromise scams.
- ID Mules: Identity mules are real people who wish to boost their credit score, new-to-credit users like students and immigrants who wish to build a good FICO score, etc. They'll knowingly or unknowingly give their identity to cyber criminals to open fake accounts. The result may be similar to current synthetic ID schemes but based on a completely legit starting point.
- FinTech companies will be the next big target: The fintech sector, which has largely escaped the abuse of fraudsters, will begin to see a sharp increase in online fraud.
- Chatbot and voice assistance payment fraud will rise: As soon as these 24/7 convenience technologies begin to functionality that can move money from a user's account - they'll be targeted by criminals and will need to be protected against account takeover.
- P2P fraud increases: P2P attacks will escalate as social engineering imposters will be at the receiving end of P2P money transfers. This will result in real users suffering from higher friction as fraud levels surge.
- Business Email Compromise will include more Direct Deposit Fraud: A fraudster will trick an HR or Payroll employee to update direct deposit information in order to re-route an employee's paycheck.
- The US will join the UK to protect authorized push payment victims: Victims in authorized push payment scams will get their money back, even if the victim was somehow at fault.
- Wire fraud grows and becomes harder to detect: FBI data shows a 700% growth in this area over the last five years.
- Account takeover will increase: Account takeover is essentially doubling each year as criminals become more technically savvy and automated. For example, mobile account takeover through SIM swap fraud doubled from 360,000 cases to more than 680,000 cases in a year. With billions of records being leaked each year online, cybercriminals are using sophisticated bots to automate account takeover attempts.
- Fraud makes its way into pop culture and social networks: Popular culture and social media are making fraudulent methods more common and easier to access, leading to more fraud attacks against banks, lenders and finance companies.
- Synthetic identity will continue to rise: Synthetic identity theft is the fastest-growing financial crime in the US.
- Fake check scams: Fake check scams are up 65 percent since 2015 and this trend will continue to rise. Most fake check scams involve a job offer, an income opportunity of some kind or involve selling items online.
- Imposter scams rake in the most money: Phishing/Vishing/Smishing/Pharming are the methods used for the most profitable scams. This includes: BEC/EAC, Confidence Fraud/Romance and Spoofing.
- Targeted ransomware attacks on the rise: In 2020, we will witness an increase of targeted ransomware attacks. Criminals will use the dark web to gather intelligence on employees and organizations with poor cyber hygiene.
- IoT devices under attack: The huge number of IoT devices, along with the 5G networks roll out, will dramatically increase the number of attacks against smart devices.
- AI-based attacks: Criminal hackers will use A.I. to adapt in real-time to the defense responses of the organizations they are attacking.
- Compromised credentials and data breaches: Credential stuffing will become a popular money-making method for cybercriminals.
- Cybercrime-as-a-service: Among the numerous services offered in the cybercrime underground, ransomware-as-a-service platforms, DDoS-for-hire platforms and spamming services will facilitate the emergence of new criminal organizations and speeds up the operations of existing ones.
- Phishing kit developers will offer more refined products: Phishing kit developers will offer more refined products, further lowering the skill required to launch a phishing campaign. Attackers are improving the quality of their phishing campaigns by minimizing or hiding common signs of a phish.
- Ransomware attacks: Ransomware developers will make their code more evasive so that they can establish a foothold in a system, encrypt more data without being noticed, and possibly scale operations to other networks.
Anti-fraud compliance obligations include the creation and ongoing maintenance of an effective consumer fraud prevention program. We are often told by our bank and credit union clients that our service is applauded and encouraged when the FDIC and NCUA regulatory agencies perform their audits.
"Financial institutions should implement an enhanced customer education to increase awareness of the fraud risk and effective techniques customers can use to mitigate the risk." ~ FFIEC
"Consumer education is critical...Publish details of localized scams via online banking websites. Scam alerts can be powerful tools in educating your client base." ~ FICO
"One easy way to curb this fraud is through more education and awareness." ~ Department of Justice
"Develop an awareness framework that challenges, educates and empowers your customers and employees to be part of the human firewall." ~ FS-ISAC
"Teach your older members: When fraud comes knocking, don't answer."
~ NCUA
"The FDIC encourages financial institutions, government agencies, consumer organizations, educators, the media, and anyone else to help make the tips and information in FDIC Consumer News widely available." ~ FDIC
"FinCEN strongly supports efforts to raise awareness of elder abuse -particularly financial exploitation of the elderly." ~ FinCEN
"Develop and distribute fraud prevention resources and conduct outreach." ~ FINRA
"The banking industry should leverage anti-fraud resources to help customers protect themselves." ~ American Banking Association
"Employee and customer education is the key...the problem many institutions face, however, relates to lacking resources and dedicated support for truly integrated educational campaigns and programs." ~ Financial Services Roundtable
"Armed with the right knowledge, almost anyone can recognize a fraudulent scheme and make the right decision to stay away."
~ United States Postal Inspector Service
"People are often seen as the weakest link when it comes to cyber security, but that must change." ~ UK National Cyber Security Centre