Identity Theft
February 23, 2011
NACHA Phishing Alert (2/22/11) Email Claiming to be from the "Electronic Payments Association"
NACHA -- The Electronic Payments Association has received reports that individuals and/or companies have received a fraudulent email that has the appearance of having been sent from NACHA and signed by a non-existent NACHA employee. Specifically, this email claims to be from the "Electronic Payments Association" and appears to be coming from the email address "payments@nacha.org." See a sample of the email below.
Be aware that phishing emails frequently have attachments and/or links to Web pages that host malicious code and software. Do not open attachments or follow Web links in unsolicited emailsfrom unknown parties or from parties with whom you do not normally communicate, or that appear to be known but are suspicious or otherwise unusual.
NACHA itself does not process nor touch the ACH transactions that flow to and from organizations and financial institutions. NACHA does not send communications to individuals or organizations about individual ACH transactions that they originate or receive.
If malicious code is detected or suspected on a computer, consult with a computer security or anti-virus specialist to remove malicious code or re-install a clean image of the computer system.
Always use anti-virus software and ensure that the virus signatures are automatically updated.
Ensure that the computer operating systems and common software applications security patches are installed and current.
Be alert for different variations of fraudulent emails.
= = = = = Sample Email = = = = = =
From: payments@nacha.org [mailto:payments@nacha.org]
Sent: Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:32 AM
To: Doe, John
Subject: ACH transaction rejected
The ACH transaction, recently sent from your checking account (by you or any other person), was cancelled by the Electronic Payments Association.
Please click here to view report
------------------------------------------------------------------
January 21, 2011
FDIC Issues Special Alert on Deposit-Insurance E-Mail Scam The FDIC has issued a special alert to warn consumers about an e-mail scam that uses the alleged suspension of consumers' deposit insurance coverage as a ploy to obtain personal information. The e-mail -- purportedly from the FDIC -- informs recipients that "in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, federal, state and local governments," the FDIC has withdrawn deposit insurance coverage from their account "due to account activity that violates the Patriot Act."
It then says the deposit insurance coverage will remain suspended until identity and account information can be verified using a system called "IDVerify." The FDIC is attempting to identify the e-mails' source and disrupt their transmission, officials said.
ReadMore. <http://abamaestro.aba.com/trk/click?ref=zt50ebrbb_0-5f6x3b17x11297&
June 21, 2010
ALERT: We have learned that criminals have launched a major e-mail campaign to deploy the infamous ZeuS Trojan e-mail, which will send spam messages, some disguised as fraud alerts, from the Internal Revenue Service, Twitter account hijack warnings, or salacious Youtube.com videos. This fraudulent IRS e-mail uses the verbiage "Notice of Underreported Income" as the Subject Line and encourages the recipient to click a link to review their tax statement. All of the latest e-mails use a variety of URL shortening services.
This is a reminder that you should never open the attachment or download information from unexpected or spam emails.
June 18, 2010
Added Japan to list of Blocked Countries - January 18,2011
Important security alert for Debit Visa Card ® Customers!
First State Bank, Louise and Visa® work closely to monitor and protect your Debit Visa Card® from any fraudulent activity. When we learn of fraudulent activity taking place, we may block certain transactions that occur in a particular country or state or location or at a specific type of merchant. Currently, all Debit Visa Card® Signature-based transactions are being blocked in Italy, Japan, Great Britain and Canada at the present time.
If you are unable to use your Visa Debit Card as a credit card , you still may be able to use your Debit Visa Card® at all of these stores by simply selecting "Debit" and using your PIN.
As fraud patterns change, we may add or remove blocks as appropriate to protect you. Be sure to always monitor your account and let us know immediately if you notice unauthorized transactions. Please contact The First State Bank Customer Service at 979-648-2691, your local branch, or stop by your nearest Banking Center to report unauthorized transactions, or if you have further questions.
Identity Theft Protection
If you think you are a victim of identity theft please contact the Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov/ or call them at 1-877-382-4357 and also contact your local branch for an account alert.
If you would like more information on identity theft, please visit the Federal Trade Commission's microsite on identity theft. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/
- Nearly 15 million Americans are the victims of identity theft each year (Identity Theft Resource Center & Gartner Study 2006)
- Americans lost more than 1.2 billion dollars last year due to identity theft and fraud (FTC 2008)
- More than 285 million records were compromised in 2008 – This surpassed the total number of records breached in the previous four years combined.
- An identity theft victim spends an average of 330 hours trying to restore their identity if it has gone undetected for 24 months or more. (Identity Theft Resource Center)
For Identity Theft Protection: CSIdentity Protector
