MetroBank Alerts
Disaster Recovery
These sites have tip sheets and guides for creating comprehensive business recovery plans:. www.ready.gov - Run by Homeland Security, the site has a section for business disaster planning.
. www.floridadisaster.org - A step-by-step guide to creating a business recovery plan.
. www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance - Produced by the Small Business Adminstration, the site has links to planning guides.
. www.fema.gov/hazard - Tips and planning guides for all types of disasters.
. www.officedepot.com/getprepared - Checklists, tips, and guides to surviving a disaster.
Advance Loan Fees Scam
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is reminding consumers to be aware of advance fee loan scams. The FDIC has observed a significant increase in the number of unsolicited e-mails ("spam") advertising mortgage refinancing, debt consolidation and elimination, small business loans, and special loan programs for veterans and minorities. While some of these e-mails may advertise legitimate loan programs and lenders, advance fee loan scams are becoming more prevalent.Advance fee loan scams prey on consumers who may be under financial duress and may be seeking quick and easy loan approval and funding. The scam typically involves the lender making false promises to arrange for a loan in return for fees paid upfront by the loan applicant. Scam artists may even design Web sites and online loan applications giving the appearance that the company is legitimate.
Fraudulent logos and letterhead of legitimate financial institutions or government agencies may also appear on documents that are faxed to the loan applicant. Potential borrowers may be asked to provide information through a Web site or be contacted by phone or e-mail by a "representative" who guarantees loan approval as soon as the borrower pays a required fee. The loan applicant may be told that the fees will be used to pay a third party for loan insurance or application processing, or to make the first month's loan payment. The loan applicant may also be told to send or wire transfer money to an individual overseas before receiving the loan proceeds.
In some cases, the loan applicant has been falsely directed to a legitimate financial institution with no knowledge of the transaction. In other cases, the loan applicant is told that the loan request was declined and is asked to forward additional money to qualify for a different loan program.
The following are warning signs that may indicate a loan offer is not legitimate:
The loan approval is "guaranteed." Lenders do not typically guarantee loans before analyzing the applicant's financial condition, credit history and ability to repay.
The loan applicant is required to pay upfront fees to a third party or individual. Loan fees are normally paid to a business after the loan has been approved.
The lender or loan processor may be located outside of the United States.
Fees are requested using a retail wire transfer system. A password is sometimes used by the overseas receiver to pick up the funds in an attempt to hide the true identity of the criminals and make funds more difficult to trace.
Please report any similar situations by following the procedures below:
Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov/.
Equifax Reports Phishing Attempt
Equifax has verified that phishing attempts have been made on some customers using their online delivery portal Equifax ePORT®. "Phishing" or "spoofing" is an e-mail threat where fraudulent e-mails appear from a well-known company and ask you to provide, update or confirm certain confidential information.In this instance, some Equifax ePORT customers have reported receiving e-mails appearing to be from Equifax requesting that they provide Company ID, User ID and Password. Equifax would never ask for this information. These e-mails have not been sent from Equifax and are not legitimate. DO NOT RESPOND TO THEM.
Simply clicking the link in a spoofed e-mail can be dangerous, even if you do not provide the information requested. When in doubt if a message is authentic or not, always contact Equifax to confirm.
If you believe you have responded to a phishing attempt concerning your Equifax ePORT account, please call Equifax at 1-888-592-0008 immediately, or fax them at 770-752-1275.
EEOC Phishing SCAM and Virus
EEOC ALERTS PUBLIC TO E-MAIL 'PHISHING' SCAMFederal Agency Identifies Internet Fraud Being Perpetrated Against Employers
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) late today notified the business community and general public to a "phishing" e-mail circulating to companies that purports to be from the federal agency regarding a harassment complaint. The bogus e-mail contains a Trojan Horse Virus that is likely to harm a recipient's computer if the user clicks on the referenced web link and/or downloads the attached file.
The phony e-mail to employers -- being circulated under the subject "Harassment Complaint Update For"-- contains links where the respondent can allegedly access details of a fake discrimination claim. The EEOC has reported the issue to appropriate authorities.
The EEOC's policy is to notify an employer of the filing of a charge of employment discrimination using the U.S. Postal System. Because of security concerns, the EEOC does not notify employers of the filing of a charge of discrimination via e-mail. Consequently, if a company receives an e-mail notification which purports to advise the respondent of the filing of a charge of employment discrimination with the EEOC, the federal agency urges users to delete it immediately.
The contents of the phishing e-mail include an EEOC logo under the subject line and contain purported language from the EEOC under a subject heading, "Employer Liability for Harassment." Excerpts of the phishing e-mail are highlighted below:
FROM: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
SUBJECT: "Harassment Complaint Update For"
This is an automated email that confirms the registration of harassment complaint #number...this harassment complaint can lead to law enforcement action. You can download and print a copy of this complaint to keep for your personal records here...Our staff will keep you updated regarding the status of our investigation...To check the status of your complaint access:
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its official web site at www.eeoc.gov.
Reg E Change re: Receipts
Effective 08/06/07 - Regulation E change mandates no ATM/POS receipts are required for transactions $15.00 or less. Continued use of your ATM/VISA Debit Card constitutes acceptance of new terms. Be sure to log all entries and use your online banking or telephone banking privileges daily for monitoring.Fraudulent FDIC Letters & Checks
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has become aware of letters that appear to be sent from the FDIC to financial institutions in the United States and other countries. The letters instruct the financial institution to deposit an enclosed official or cashier's check into a customer's account. The letters include "DEPOSIT ACCLERATION" directly below the letterhead and display the forged signatures of "Sandra L. Thompson, Director" and "Christopher J. Spoth, Acting Director 2." The letters are fraudulent and were not sent by the FDIC.To date, the fraudulent letters have included one or more counterfeit official or cashier's checks and state that the FDIC is authorizing the deposit of the instruments as a payment to a customer's deposit account. The letters provide an actual customer's name and account number.
Financial institutions should not deposit the checks enclosed with the fraudulent letters. The FDIC does NOT authorize payments or deposits to customers' accounts and does not play a role in transactions between an open financial institution and its customers. Financial institutions that receive one of the subject letters should recognize that an unauthorized party may have the deposit account information of one of its customers and should consider assisting the customer in closing any compromised accounts and opening new accounts, as necessary.
Information about counterfeit items, cyber-fraud incidents and other fraudulent activity may be forwarded to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F- 4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov. Questions related to federal deposit insurance or consumer issues should be submitted to the FDIC using an online form that can be accessed at http://www2.fdic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.
Cashier's Check Fraud
The consumer advisory "Avoiding Cashier's Check Fraud" is available on the Office of the Comptroller's website at:http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/ADVISORY/2007-1.html
Fraudulent FDIC Emails
The FDIC has become aware of e-mails that appear to be sent from the FDIC or VeriSign, Inc. and ask recipients to run a "security guard script" to secure Web sites. Currently, the e-mails are purportedly from "FDIC Legal Information Technology," "FDIC Information Security," or "Verisign Inc." and the subject lines include the phrase "Regular Security Maintenance" or "Regular Hosting Security Maintenance." The e- mails are fraudulent and were not sent by the FDIC or VeriSign, Inc.The fraudulent e-mails state that "to secure your websites, please use the attached file and (for UNIX/Linux Based servers) upload the file "vprotect.php" in: "./public_html" or (for Windows Based servers) in: "./wwwroot" in your site." The e-mails also provide instructions for recipients who "do not know how to use" the file.
Please report any similar situations by following the procedures below:
Forward the information to the FDIC's Cyber-Fraud and Financial Crimes Section, 550 17th Street, N.W., Room F-4004, Washington, D.C. 20429, or transmit this information electronically to alert@fdic.gov.
