Members beware of latest text scam!

Spam calls are on the rise, but so are spam text messages. These messages may even be designed to look like they are coming from Erie FCU. We have received several reports of a text scam occurring posing as Erie FCU and asking members “Did you authorize the following activity...?" This text message is NOT coming from Erie FCU and is a scam. Erie FCU would never ask you to provide any personal information via a text or an email. NEVER click on any suspicious links from texts/emails that you do not recognize. READ FULL STORY

Your Data For Sale On The Dark Web And What You Can Do About It

As much as we love the convenience of our digital world, we know a hefty price tag can come with it. The world is full of bad actors whose goal is to get their hands on our sensitive, personally identifiable information, or PII. Should you find your PII is for sale on the dark web, it helps to know there are options for doing something about it, even if you think it’s too late. Just some of that hijacked PII can include passwords, email and physical addresses, Social Security numbers, financial accounts, and much more. READ FULL STORY

Sneaky Email Phishing Uses Corrupt MS Word Files

Always looking for new ways to swindle us, hackers are using purposely corrupted Word files to hook unsuspecting users. The success rate of this email phishing attack is nearly 100%, so knowing what to look for before you get hooked can help prevent this latest cybercrime. Any.Run, a malware hunting firm, found corrupt Word files attached to emails, infected with malware that bypass Microsoft's malware checks. Even worse, this scam uses Microsoft’s own document recovery feature to open the corrupt file. READ FULL STORY

Are You A Money Mule? What You Need To Know

Criminals of all kinds traffic in stolen money and need middlemen to relocate the funds. From romance scams to phishing attacks and more, there’s plenty of fraudsters with hijacked money needing laundering—and that’s where money mules come in handy. Unfortunately, sometimes those people are unaware of what they are doing, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be punished for it. Check out the red flags of avoiding becoming a money mule—and a criminal. READ FULL STORY

Phishing Examples Of The Current Top Ransomware Threats

Ransomware attacks have become increasingly prevalent and damaging in recent years and they do not discriminate. Every person, industry, or organization is fair game for cybercriminals wanting to make a buck; in most cases, many bucks. Cybercriminals are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities they can exploit to gain unauthorized access and deploy ransomware. Here, we highlight some of the most significant vulnerabilities leveraged by ransomware groups, their implications, and the importance of securing these weaknesses. READ FULL STORY

Shimming Right Along To Skim Your Payment Card Number

By now, most of us have at least one or two EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) cards. These are the payment cards that were touted as far more secure than the ones with the magnetic strips on the backs. And indeed, if you ask Visa these cards have resulted in a 75% decrease in fraud in the three years since they were introduced. Cybercriminals are of course finding ways to take advantage of the EMV cards too. Now, there are reports of a new way to skim. READ FULL STORY

Senior Scams—When Elder Fraud Gets Personal

Last year in the U.S., nearly two-thirds of scam victims were seniors. Whether family, friend or neighbor, many of us know a senior citizen. But one thing many of us don’t know is how vulnerable they are to cybercrime. The FBI reports those aged 60+ are potential victims of a nearly $3.5 billion criminal scheme to defraud this at-risk group, and it’s only getting worse. The reasons behind the attacks are simple. It's about money and trust. READ FULL STORY

Who's That On The Phone? AI Scams Are Here

In this video, viewers will learn about the many ways in which criminals use the phones to target their victims. These attacks include old school social engineering as well as the very latest scams using deep fake technology. Users will be given useful tips on how to detect and avoid falling victim to these types of scams. READ FULL STORY

Calling Your FI? You Could Be Calling a Hacker Instead

When did calling your financial institution (FI) turn into calling a hacker instead? Well, there’s now an improved Android banking trojan named FakeCall that’s intercepting calls to FIs. FakeCall reportedly has 13 new variations, with all making detection more difficult. It sounds hard to believe, but victims of FakeCall malware along with their financial accounts tell the story—and there’s more to know. One of them is that all versions have one thing in common. READ FULL STORY

Shell Out Some Cash For Your Free Trip To The Beach

It’s summer! And from the temperatures most of the U.S. is experiencing, that’s not a surprise to anyone. With summer comes wonderful, relaxing, exciting vacations for so many of us. And wouldn’t it make your summer even better if you won a 5-day, 4-night vacation in the Bahamas? Well, it seems that you certainly have an opportunity to win it, but is it too good to be true? Let’s take a look at one in particular that has gotten a lot of traction in the forums on the travel website, TripAdvisor. READ FULL STORY

Is Sideloading Worth The Risk Of Downloading Malware?

It’s been well-known that sideloading apps is a risky proposition. Just ask the 20 million Aptoide users who recently learned their personally identifiable information (PII) was posted online by a hacker. Aptoide, a popular third-party app “discovery platform” had its database hacked earlier this month. The cybercriminal behind the hack claims that in addition to the 20 million exposed data files, there’s an additional 19 million files in their possession. Whether that’s true or not remains a mystery for now, but the Aptoide incident shows (in a huge way) why app sideloading is risky at best and is not recommended by security professionals. READ FULL STORY

Is It Time to Freeze Your Credit? What to Know

With an abundance of scams and data breaches exposing our sensitive information, it doesn’t take much for a criminal to cobble together an identity profile and ruin a victim’s finances. That’s why more people every day are placing a credit freeze on their financial accounts. The question now is, should you? According to a study, identity fraud cost Americans $43 billion last year. An empty bank account, unexpected credit card purchases, and bills for accounts you never opened are signs something is wrong, so don’t wait to act. READ FULL STORY