Safety & Security

• What is a social engineering attack?
• What is a phishing attack? 
• How do you avoid being a victim of an engineering or phishing attack? 
• What do you do if you think you are a victim?
• New Computer Virus May Prompt Online Fraud Attempt
• IRS Phishing Scam and Identity Theft
• Forget Phish, Beware of RATs
• LimeWire - Downloaders Beware! 
• ATM Safety and You

What is a social engineering attack?

To launch a social engineering attack, an attacker uses human interaction (social skills) to obtain or compromise information about an organization or its computer systems. An attacker may seem unassuming and respectable, possibly claiming to be a new employee, repair person, or researcher and even offering credentials to support that identity. However, by asking questions, he or she may be able to piece together enough information to infiltrate an organization's network. If an attacker is not able to gather enough information from one source, he or she may contact another source within the same organization and rely on the information from the first source to add to his or her credibility.

What is a phishing attack?

Phishing is a form of social engineering. Phishing attacks use email or malicious web sites to solicit personal, often financial, information. Attackers may send email seemingly from a reputable credit card company or financial institution that requests account information, often suggesting that there is a problem. When users respond with the requested information, attackers can use it to gain access to the accounts.

        How do you avoid being a victim?

• Be suspicious of unsolicited phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about employees or other internal information. If an unknown individual claims to be from a legitimate organization, try to verify his or her identity directly with the company.

• Do not provide personal information or information about your organization, including its structure or networks, unless you are certain of a person's authority to have the information.

• Do not reveal personal or financial information in email, and do not respond to email solicitations for this information. This includes following links sent in email.

• Don't send sensitive information over the Internet before checking a web site's security (see Protecting Your Privacy for more information).

• Pay attention to the URL of a web site. Malicious web sites may look identical to a legitimate site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs. .net).

• If you are unsure whether an email request is legitimate, try to verify it by contacting the company directly. Do not use contact information provided on a web site connected to the request; instead, check previous statements for contact information. Information about known phishing attacks is also available online from groups such as the Anti-Phishing Working Group (http://www.antiphishing.org/phishing_archive.html).

• Install and maintain anti-virus software, firewalls, and email filters to reduce some of this traffic (see Understanding Firewalls, Understanding Anti-Virus Software, and Reducing Spam for more information).

        What do you do if you think you are a victim?

• If you believe you might have revealed sensitive information about your organization, report it to the appropriate people within the organization, including network administrators. They can be alert for any suspicious or unusual activity.

• If you believe your financial accounts may be compromised, contact your financial institution immediately and close any accounts that may have been compromised. Watch for any unexplainable charges to your account.

• Consider reporting the attack to the police, and file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov/).
  
  

  

   

   

  New Computer Virus May Prompt Online Fraud Attempt

  Please be on the look out for a new computer virus that may be on your computer. This virus may cause a fraudulent screen to appear in the online Bill Payment window. The screen posts messages that attempt to trick you into providing sensitive information such as your account numbers and passwords - information the bill payment system already knows and you should not provide again.

  If you are using online Bill Payment and a new screen appears out of context asking you to provide sensitive information, do not provide this information.

  If you are using an antivirus detector such as Anti-Spyware this will help in detecting the virus.

  

   

  IRS Phishing Scam and Identity Theft

  US-CERT continues to receive reports of phishing scams that target online users. Most recently, users have reported receiving emails that appear to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The phishing email claims to offer a tax refund and requests users to click on a link to provide personal and possibly sensitive information. Identity thieves could use this information to further compromise unsuspecting victims.
  A spokesperson for the IRS has confirmed that they do not solicit anything by email.
  
  Forget Phish, Beware of RATS

  Phishing, Skimming and now RATS? That's right! RATs or Remote Access Trojans are the latest wave in Internet identity theft. The worst part, RATS are silent and you won't know they're on your computer.

  • How RATS Access Your PC
    Sent by computer hackers, two primary methods used to sneak RATS on to your PC are through music download and electronic greeting card sites.
  • How RATS Work
    RATs are patient. They wait for you to log on to your financial institution website, type in your account number or user ID and password. It then transmits your information from your PC to the hacker.
  • RAT Defense
    Anti-virus and spyware software can help, but you are your best defense. Be careful how you use your computer. Stay clear of unfamiliar websites and don't reply to every pop-up or unauthorized e-mail.

  If you believe you have been a victim of a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) after logging into your GECU account, contact SmartCall at 915.778.9221 (Toll free 1.800.772.GECU).

  Information for this article used with the permission of NewsChannel 9.
  

  LimeWire - Downloaders Beware!

  If you're a savvy computer user and download information from the Internet onto your PC, you may be familiar with LimeWire; if not, downloaders beware! Designed as a free person-to-person information sharing program, LimeWire is used primarily for downloading music and video files. Unfortunately, if not installed and configured properly, LimeWire can disable your computer's firewall and enable other Internet users to view all information stored on your hard drive. Before using LimeWire, please make sure your PC firewall is intact and functioning properly. Taking this necessary precaution will reduce the exposure of personal information stored on your PC to the risk of identity theft.

  

  
  

  ATM Safety And You

  ATMs are a fast and easy way to withdraw cash, check account balances and deposit or transfer funds. Hand-in-hand with the convenience of 24/7 access provided by ATMs is the need to exercise caution. Here are a few things you can do to protect yourself and your money when using an ATM.

  • Keep your Personal Identification Number (PIN), a secret.
  • Always observe your surroundings before conducting an ATM transaction.
  • If an ATM is obstructed from view or poorly lit, go to another ATM.
  • Minimize time spent at the ATM by having your card out and ready to use.
  • Stand between the ATM and anyone waiting to use the terminal so that others can't see your PIN.
  • If you see anyone or anything suspicious while conducting a transaction, cancel it and leave immediately.
  • If anyone follows you after making an ATM transaction, go to a crowded, well-lit area and call 911.
  • When using a drive-up ATM, keep your engine running, the doors locked and the windows up at all times. If something strikes you as unusual or suspicious, cancel your transaction and leave immediately.