Notes

Moss Adams Business Consultants: HELPING YOU STAY AHEAD OF CYBERFRAUD

We’ve all been there: That moment when you find an e-mail from your bank asking you to click on a link to confirm your account information, or perhaps you discover that a sum of money was mysteriously wired from your account.

An estimated 5 percent of adults in the United States falls victim to these kinds of crimes every year. While technology continues to evolve and change the way we lead our lives, cybercriminals are right in step with those changes and intensifying their efforts to access your data.

Know what you’re up against and protect yourself—this is the crux of cybersecurity. While we’re often reminded by financial institutions or security experts to fortify our information, the majority of us still don’t do it as methodically as we should, even when we know the alternative—having your information stolen and exploited—could be devastating.

Malware, phishing, social engineering, and wire fraud are common tactics that criminals use to compromise a victim’s identity or login credentials. Some of these are more sophisticated than others. Let’s take a look:

Malware is the use of malicious software to gain access to private computer systems and gather sensitive personal information, such as social security numbers, account numbers, passwords, and more. While malware can be inserted into a victim’s computer by various means, it often slips in when an unwary user clicks an unfamiliar link or opens an infected e-mail.

Phishing is one of the most common tactics used by criminals to acquire sensitive personal information via e-mail. Often times, a criminal will masquerade as an entity with which a victim already has a financial relationship and attempt to solicit sensitive personal data from the unwitting recipient.

Social engineering is a way for criminals to gain the trust of a victim over time through social and other electronic media and then manipulate that person into divulging confidential information.

Wire fraud has been around much longer than some of today’s emerging data security threats, but it’s experiencing a resurgence. The most common scenario involves fraudulent money transfer requests by phone or electronically. Many times, a compromised e-mail account allows a fraudster to gain access to personal information.

GUARD YOUR INFORMATION

As a line of defense, you can implement a series of measures to help protect your identity and mitigate potential security risks. It’s important to trust your instincts: If something seems odd, suspicious, or too good to be true, then it probably is. Here are some tactics you can start utilizing today:

Surf safe. Don’t click on unknown links, and make sure you use secured, known networks, especially when you are accessing your financial accounts.
Manage your devices. Make sure your computer and devices always have the latest updates and antivirus and antispyware programs installed.
Secure your network. Your home Wi-Fi should have a strong administrator password and a password required to join it. Always know what devices are connected to your network and be sure those devices are updated.
Protect your passwords. Use strong, unique passwords for all accounts you access online, and regularly reset these passwords. This also applies to all your devices, in addition to setting a PIN or some type of locking mechanism. To securely keep track of your passwords, you might use a password manager application.
Protect yourself on social media. Limit the amount of personal information you share on social networks. Information you post on social media can make it easier for cybercriminals to target or trick you, or even identify you as a more valuable target.
Protect your e-mail accounts. Delete e-mails that include financial data when they are no longer needed. Never click on links in unsolicited e-mails or pop-up ads.
Safeguard your financial accounts. Check your financial statements often (weekly or more often); if you see unauthorized transactions, report them immediately. If your financial institution allows you to set alerts on large or odd transactions, use this service.
Contact us immediately if you suspect there may be suspicious activity in your accounts or attempts to access your accounts.

WE'RE HERE TO HELP

Keeping your information safe and secure is a top priority for our firm. To better protect you and your accounts from cybersecurity threats, we continuously review security procedures to ensure that we are following best practices recommended by the custodians, financial institutions, and industry experts with whom we work.

To protect against wire fraud, our policy is to double or sometimes triple check the validity of any wire requested. When you e-mail your advisory team with a request for a wire, they will initiate a call to you using your phone number on file. Your advisory team will make sure they recognize your voice or that you can answer identifying questions. Once we reach you and determine that the request is legitimate, we will begin the process of preparing for and submitting your wire. We find that knowing you and your goals helps us maintain the security of your accounts and validity of any transfers. If you have any questions or concerns about safeguarding your online information, please contact your Moss Adams professional.