by Greg Crandell

I get this complaint from Credit Unions and other businesses all the time:

"We don't want to start sending e-mail messages and statements to our clients because we're going to get phished".

It's one of those funny statements like "life isn't fair" that's right and wrong all at the same time. The Credit Unions we serve aren't being phished. No one's asking them for crucial information and taking advantage of it. What happens is this:

1) Some crumb-bum (pardon my French) sets up a website/e-mail address and snags a picture of a CU's logo.
2) They start e-mailing people (members or not) and asking for their social security numbers, member numbers, account numbers, names, addresses, mother's maiden name, etc.
3) Here's where we get a split:
3A] The targeted e-mails drop the phish e-mail in their SPAM folder. End of discussion.
3B] The member gets smart and deletes it. End of discussion.
3C] The member ACTUALLY SENDS ALL OF THEIR CRUCIAL PERSONAL INFORMATION TO A COMPLETE STRANGER WITHOUT THINKING!!!!

Sorry, went a little crazy there. But it DRIVES me crazy. People short their members out of essential services in favor of "steering clear of trouble", so they say. Oh really?

I recall the 70s (yes, I was clean-living enough to remember some of it) - people would put boxes in front of ATMs marked *ATM BROKEN, PLACE DEPOSITS HERE*...and people did.

And, of course, we stopped using ATMs altogether.

Then, people started "vishing" - or voice phishing - by calling up people and taking their information or asking for mail-ins.

So naturally, we stopped using the telephone.

Is any of this sinking in? You can't just run away from technology because people start using it for ill. You're cheating the people you serve out of what they need to manage their money and make decisions regarding the use of your business.

Labels: Credit Union News, Credit Union Tech, Credit Unions, e-mail, email, Financial News, SPAM, spam filters, SPAM history.